Okay, so Deja Foxx was a bust, but we have a LOT to cover August 5th, enough that I can’t even waste time with a recap.
The best place to start may be Arizona. While the Deja Foxx race didn’t go our way, we do have primaries for Tucson City Council. Personally, I don’t see why the special election wasn’t scheduled alongside them, but I guess that’s just me. In Ward 3, the race looks to be very similar to the Congressional Election that just occurred, with an incumbent who is endorsed by both Ramona and Adelita Grijalva, running against progressive upstart Sadie Shaw.
There’s one key difference however; there’s far less ambiguity in who the more progressive option is. Unlike Adelita Grijalva, Kevin Dahl is not back by any other progressive groups, while Sadie Shaw has the backing of the Arizona Working Families Party and the Tucson DSA. If you were opposed to Deja Foxx because there weren’t enough progressive groups backing her, well, here’s your gal!
In Ward 5, the race appears to be between progressive Selina Barajas, who is backed by the Grijalvas, the local WFP, and Run for Something, and Jesse Lugo, the tough on crime candidate who is backed by corporate Dems and Police Unions.
In Ward 5, progressive Miranda Schubert seems to carry the support of progressive groups like local DSA and WFP branches. No one else in the race has nearly as much support.
Sadie Shaw – Donation Link
Selina Barajas – Donation Link
Miranda Schubert – Donation Link
Moving on, we have a six person Jungle Primary for the Topeka City Council’s first district. There are two progressives running in this race, Jolie Lippitt and William Neager. Between the two, Neager has the better chance of winning since I can’t find any other endorsement for Lippitt other than Run for Something, which has also endorsed Neager. Considering that none of the other candidates seem to have any endorsements of notes, it’s safe to assume that this is a contest between Neager and incumbent Karen Hiller, who has held this seat since 2009, and faced no competition in her last re-election in 2021.
William Neager – Donation Link
In Detroit’s 7th City Council, we have Denzel McCampbell, who is endorsed both by progressives such as Rashida Tlaib and the local DSA and WFP branches, as well as by the 12 Congressional District Democrat party and the Detroit Free Press. This is probably because his main opponent is state Representative Karen Whitsett. I’m just going to go ahead and quote Michigan Advance here.
“Whitsett has long been a thorn in the side of legislative Democrats, beginning with her vote in 2020 as the lone Democrat to vote with all Republicans in seeking to cap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive powers aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, to her refusal at voting with Democrats in 2023 to pass provisions that included eliminating the mandatory 24-hour waiting period before getting an abortion and allowing Medicaid to cover the cost of an abortion. Because House Democrats only had a slim 56-54 majority, those provisions had to be left out of the legislation eventually signed by Whitmer.
Most recently, Whitsett’s refusal to attend the final days of the House’s lame duck session, when combined with Republicans’ walking out of the chamber, deprived Democratic leaders with a quorum and forced a frustrating end of session with several legislative priorities left unpassed.“
Not surprisingly, there’s not a lot of enthusiasm for Whitsett’s City Council bid. Anyway, I couldn’t find any information on the other two candidates other than a linkedin page, so it seems like there’s a strong chance that McCampbell is the favorite here.
Denzell McCampbell – Donation Link
In Lansing Michigan, Julie Vandenboom is running for the City Council At Large, which has 2 seats available. Vandenboom is endorsed by the local DSA, so we definitely want her to win. Her race has 9 other candidates including one incumbent, which means that she has a steep climb ahead of her. The incumbent is almost definitely going to advance, so it’s basically a race for that second seat. The only other candidates with a shot are Clara Martinez, who has the backing of Run for Something and the current Mayor of Lansing, and Aurelius Christian, who has the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce and Association of Realtors. Of these three, Martinez seems to be the front runner if the number of endorsements is any indication. However, there’s no reason to settle.
For City Council Ward 4, Heath Lowry is also backed by the local DSA chapter, and is trying to primary incumbent At Large City Councilor Peter Spadafore, who decided to run in Ward 4 for some reason. Kelsea Hector is also a progressive running for Lansing Mayor, but I don’t think she has much of a chance sadly.
Julie Vandenboom – Donation Link
Heath Lowry – Donation Link
Kelsea Hector – Donation Link
In Livonia Michigan, the City Council race has a crowded, 19 person, primary with two progressive candidates, those being Alex King and Nicholas Pickard, both endorsed by Run for Something. The Primary will have eight people advance to the General, so hopefully at least one of them should make it.
Alex King – Donation Link
Nicholas Pickard – Donation Link
And this brings us to Washington state, which has the most action by far. The most significant is the election for Seattle Mayor, which currently looks to be a close race between the pro corporate incumbent Bruce Harrell, and progressive Katie Wilson. Polls have shown Katie Wilson leading Harrell, to which the response is the “Ol Reliable” of corporate Dems, calling her an angry, cop hating socialist. Waow!
As if the parallels between Bruce Harrell and Andrew Cuomo weren’t enough, Harrell’s has also come under fire for creating a hostile work environment towards women, with one of his accussers being his own niece! Harrell also covered for former Mayor Ed Murray amidst accusations of sexual abuse towards a minor, and was arrested for pulling a gun on a woman who was eight months pregnant! In 2021, Lola Peters said the following to the South Seattle Emerald.
“In 2001 —2002 I was on the board of a nonprofit providing services primarily to low-income Black people in the Central District. A senior staff member was accused of sexual harassment and predatory behavior. The irrefutable compounded evidence pointed to his guilt. The board turned to its legal counsel, Bruce Harrell, for guidance. Given the concrete evidence, he recommended we launch a campaign to discredit the reputations of the accusers. We did not follow his advice.”
And this was all before he became Mayor. After he became Mayor, he appointed Adrian Diaz as chief of police, who was the subject of numerous scandals, including frequent racial and gender discrimination, hiring a chief of staff he was in a relationship with, and being the subject of a $5 million sexual harassment suit lead by four women. Harrell’s campaign manager Pedro Gomez was also accused of rape.
Do I even need to discuss policy with a record like this?
Katie Wilson – Donation Link
The Seattle City Attorney race has a Republican incumbent who is running for re-election. Fun fact, Ann Davison won her race because the Democratic establishment choose to endorse her over left wing challenger Nicole Thomas Kennedy, and launched a blitz of adds smearing her using the classic “angry, cop hating, socialist” line. Because of this, Ann Davison won, and now sits at 38% disapproval. It’s no wonder why this is the case for someone who has gone on a personal crusade against a judge she doesn’t like, and who has done videos with Jan 6th insurrectionists.
As a result, Davison is unlikely to even make it past the first round, which means the contest will likely be between progressive Rory O’Sullivan, who is endorsed by Sunrise Movement Seattle, state rep Rebecca Saldaña, and former city councilor Tammy Morales, and establishment Democrat Erika Evans. While it’s obvious which one has my support, this seat will likely see an improvement with either of them.
Rory O’Sullivan – Donation Link
In the City Council elections, Ward 2 has a four way race between multiple candidates, each of which have some progressive endorsements. The best one appears to be Jeanie Chunn, who has the support of the Washington WFP and the WA State Progressive Caucus. The race for Ward 8 looks uneventful as the incumbent Alexis Mercedes Rinck is a progressive, and so are most of the other candidates.
The Ward 9 race, on the other hand, is the classic showdown between a progressive challenger and a corporate incumbent. The aforementioned progressive is Dionne Foster, who is backed by Pramila Jayapal, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Dan Strauss, Emily Alvarado, Rebecca Saldaña, Chipalo Street, Shaun Scott, Beth Doglio, the WFP, MLK Labor, as well as a bunch of normie groups such a Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
The incumbent, Sara Nelson, is endorsed by Congressman Adam Smith, two former Governors, and a fuck ton of establishment figures. This is in spite of the fact that Sara Nelson’s disapproval was at 40% earlier this year, and it seems to be growing. Just as an aside, Sara Nelson endorsed the previously mentioned Republican City Attorney. This is far from Nelson’s only time siding with conservatives or picking fights with the left, so it will be nice to see her get booted out.
Dionne Foster – Donation Link
Tacoma Washington also has a set of elections occurring. In the Mayoral race, the progressive candidate of choice is Whitney Stevens, who is endorsed by Run for Something, the Pierce County Young Democrats, and the Tacoma chapter of the Black Women’s Caucus of Washington State. Her opponents include normie Dems John Hines and Anders Ibsen, both of whom seem to have a stronger set of endorsements than Stevens has, so it’s a question of if Stevens can take a spot in the general from one of them. Note that John Hines brought forth legislation to ban homeless encampments.
For Tacoma City Council Ward 5, The race appears to be between Progressive Zev Cook, who has backed by the local DSA chapter, Shaun Scott, and a bunch of activist and left leaning groups, and incumbent Joe Bushnell, who is backed by just about every local establishment Democratic figure, and Washington’s state Auditor and Secretary of State. Bushnell voted for the aforementioned homeless encampment ban btw.
For Pierce County Port Commissioner Board Position 4, Progressive Dan Knox, who is endorsed by Run for Something, Carmen Rivera, and Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, is running against two other candidates with their own slew of endorsements. The first of these is Cyrus Donato, who is backed by normie Democratic figures such as state House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, and former Republican state rep JT Wilson, who is backed a bunch of Republican and former Governor Christine Gregoire. Considering that pierce County voted 42.6% in the 2024 Presidential election, it’s a question of who faces off against Wilson in the General.
Whitney Stevens – Donation Link
Zev Cook – Donation Link
Dan Knox – Donation Link
In Renton Washington, there are two noteworthy City Council races. The first of these sees progressive incumbent Carmen Rivera facing a tough re-election battle for Ward 2 following accusations of bullying and verbal abuse from multiple colleagues. Because of this one, I’m a bit checked out of this, since we either lose a progressive or we reward an accused abuser, so hell if I know.
Thankfully, Ward 1 has a progressive running without that baggage, and he looks to have an easier time. Michael Westgaard, who is endorsed by the South King County DSA, the aforementioned Carmen Rivera, and Shaun Scott. Considering I can find little info on his opponents, it seems like he’ll have an easier time.
Michael Westgaard – Donation Link
For King County Executive, the our guy is Girmay Zahilay, who has the backing of progressives like Pramila Jayapal, the WFP, Shaun Scott, Chipalo Street, Carmen Rivera, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and establishment figures like Governor Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, and Congressman Adam Smith. Our opponent is Claudia Balducci, whose backers include Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, and a bunch of other corporate figures. Considering that Balducci’s backers include real estate and firefighter unions (which are often just as bad as police unions), I think we know which one is the better option. Supposedly, Balducci is also a progressive, but I’m skeptical between her endorsement list, and the fact that she endorsed Bruce Harrell.
For King County Council District 5, our progressive of choice is incumbent Renton City Councilor Kim-Khanh Van, who is endorsed by The Stranger, the Washington State Progressive Caucus, Fuse WA, Teresa Mosqueda, and Edwin Obras. She faces a difficult battle against Ryan McIrvivin, who is backed by the current Secretary of State, and Steffanie Fain, who Marilyn Strickland, Kevin Schilling, and former Governor Chris Gregoire on her side… yes, the same Governor that endorsed that Republican.
Also, since he was mentioned, there is a special election for Washington State House District 33-Position 1. Progressive incumbent Edwin Obrass, who is endorsed by Pramila Jayapal, Teresa Mosqueda, Krystal Marx, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Girmay Zahilay, Beth Doglio, and Chipalo Street, is facing a challenge from one Democrat and one Republican. Given that Washington has Jungle primaries, it’s likely that only one Democrat will be able to advance with that Republican in the race. Obrass’s opponent is Burien Mayor Kevin Schiling, who is endorsed by Adam Smith, Dave Upthegrove, police unions, and establishment Democratic institutions. Kevin Schilling also passed a homeless camping ban by the way. I will never understand why corporate scumbags like Schilling carry so much disdain for the homeless. Because clearly they’ve just gone too long without being taken down a peg. Schilling was considered so incompetent that the King County police expressed “no confidence” in him and that the Sheriff instructed police to ignore his ban.
Girmay Zahilay – Donation Link
Kim-Khanh Van – Donation Link
Edwin Obrass – Donation Link
If one couldn’t tell, we have a LOT of shit going on next month, and most of it is on August 5th. It also appears as if the tides are also turning for the left, between Mamdani’s win, and the recent DFL endorsement for Omar Fateh in Minneapolis over the two term Incumbent. We will see first hand whether or not Mamdani’s win was a flash in the pan or not. But at the same time, this is your reminder to get out there and make this happen. Don’t grow complacent, make change happen, and never give up to fight!
–
If you would like to support me or this site, then please pledge to my Fanbox or make a donation to my Cashapp ($AnniegaIIa) or Venmo if you would like to see higher quality content with more resources to put towards it. If you don’t want to spend any money on me, then you can also help by sharing my blog on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, or anywhere else where others will see it. You can also follow this blog if you would like to be kept up to date on my stuff.