From Solid to Likely Republican

Marsha Blackburn's billionaire bro backers in the Club for Growth are nervous, and during these last days of the campaign they are dumping millions into media markets in Tennessee in an attempt to smear independent conservative gubernatorial candidate, David Hatley.  

Hatley, meanwhile, would appear to be draining down the already shallow levels of support for corrupt Trump cheerleader, Marsha Blackburn.  Could it be enough of a drawdown to inadvertently elect Democrat, Jerri Green, who is running a close second to Marsha in the polls?

In Roll Call's final analysis published today, the Tennessee race has shifted from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican."

If formerly-demoralized Democrats, independents, and democrats come out on Tuesday and vote, Jerri Green will be the next Tennessee governor.

New York Times Keeps Fanning the Dead Ashes of Dead Alaska Ballot Brushfire

In an effort to rationalize its editorial stupidity, the NYTimes has doubled down today on its effort to elect a Republican in the Alaska Senate race by printing not one but two more nothing burger stories on its front page above the digital fold. 

If you're looking for something new about this controversy, which was settled last summer, don't bother.  The Alaska Supreme Court settled the issue last June, as reported by none other than the New York Times. 

The best reaction to the Times effort to put their golden thumb on the electoral scale comes from Ashleigh, a reader in Toronto:

It is not that the Times chose to run this story that is an issue, but rather its treatment of this incident of alleged ballot-stacking - a practice that while ugly, is legal, been practised by both parties, and is extremely unlikely to impact the Alaska outcome given that they use a ranked balloting system - as a major event worthy of significant coverage (at least 6 articles, 4 newsletters, a podcast episode, a video, and featured letters to the editor). All this in an election where Trump has floated the ideas of seizing voting material, sending military troops or ICE agents to the polls, is actively trying to deport a sitting congresswoman, has derailed an FBI investigation into Susan Collins, and Republican candidates have waged an unprecedentedly hateful campaign.

The NYT tries to devote equal space to unflattering stories of each party in an effort to appear unbiased, but regularly hypes stories of Democratic action that is apparently considered unremarkable when done by Republicans (see ballot-stacking and aging, etc). Meanwhile, Republican behaviour that would be unthinkable coming from a Democrat gets passing mention in euphemistic language (“norm-defying” murder of American citizens in the streets by masked government thugs, among other horrors too numerous to list). This is not being objective, and is the reason why the NYT so regularly disappoints readers who believe in the importance of journalism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/us/politics/dan-sullivan-alaska-senate.html