two interesting articles from the last week.
2018 California Senate race expected to get more crowded
(CNN)California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who announced earlier this week she would seek a fifth full term in 2018, is all but guaranteed to face a serious challenger next year. The question now: who can emerge from a potentially crowded field of ambitious progressives to take on the Democratic establishment favorite?
Kevin de León, the state Senate president, who CNN reported on Thursday intends to enter the race, is the early frontrunner to advance beyond June's open primary, along with Feinstein, into a one-on-one general election campaign. He was instrumental in moving a statewide single-payer health care bill through the state senate earlier this year and has been in contact with labor leaders and elected officials.
But even as de León prepares to make his move, billionaire Tom Steyer considers his next step and the wealthy activist Joe Sanberg flirts with a run, an unexpected name, though familiar to progressives, could soon join the contest.
The political journalist Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks online news show, is actively exploring a run, a source with knowledge of her plans tells CNN.
She would likely enter the fray with the support of the Justice Democrats, a grassroots liberal organization launched by Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks video network and Kasparian's frequent on-air partner.
Kasparian did not respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Democrats were formed around the movement that grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Their platform is largely in line with his program, and The Young Turks are broadly supportive of Sanders and the party's progressive wing.
Contacted on Friday by CNN, Justice Democrats communications director Corbin Trent wouldn't comment. A day earlier, without naming names, he said the group had planned to "launch another candidate, next week -- someone that's not announced at all yet."
"When you have a Congress that's so aggressively anti-woman, you have to do your best to not only maintain the level of representation, but to increase it," he said on Thursday, explaining one of the reasons the group would be backing a woman. "That's why (the Justice Democrats') slate is more than half women. The country is more than half women. And I don't think you can brush that side."
Kasparian joined the network as a host and producer a decade ago, according to her bio on the TYT Network website. She has also appeared as a contributor on MSNBC and RT, and taught journalism at California State University Northridge.
Feinstein, 84, announced on Monday she would run again. There had been rumors she was considering retirement. Kasparian, some five decades her junior and a critic of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 primary campaign, would seek to take on Feinstein from the left.
The state's open primary is slated for June 5, 2018. The top two two overall vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November. Feinstein has a significant power base in California, but she is a political moderate at a time when the Democratic rank-and-file is spoiling for fights with President Donald Trump -- and jabbing at each other over the direction of the party -- leaving her vulnerable, progressives believe, to being unseated next year.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/politics/california-senate-race-feinstein-challenge/index.html
Liberal online news host Cenk Uygur considering Senate run in California
Liberal news host Cenk Uygur is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein next year, according to a California elected official who has talked with him about the race.
Uygur, the host of the popular online show The Young Turks and the co-founder of The Young Turks Network, is “seriously looking at” the race, the elected official said. “A lot of his audience is writing him saying he should run.”
CNN reported last week that Uygur’s co-host on The Young Turks, Ana Kasparian, was thinking about running. But Uygur is now also considering running, according to the elected official, and it’s expected that both hosts won’t run.
Uygur did not respond to a request for comment about the Senate race. But on his live show on Thursday afternoon, he suggested some kind of announcement is coming.
“Don’t miss the show next week,” he said in the first minutes of the broadcast. “Interesting. Just don’t miss it. I’ll leave it at that.”
A household name among many supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., Uygur launched The Young Turks in 2002 as a radio talk show and built it into a progressive media network with more than 3,400,000 subscribers on YouTube.
If he does decide to get in the race, Uygur would add a jolt of liberal energy to the field of challengers taking on Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate since 1992. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León announced on Sunday that he was running against Feinstein. San Francisco philanthropist Tom Steyer and Los Angeles entrepreneur Joe Sanberg are also considering jumping in.
Uygur, 47, is the co-founder of Justice Democrats, a liberal group that is recruiting primary challengers to establishment Democrats. Corbin Trent, a spokesman for the group, declined to confirm whether Uygur is considering running for Senate.
“We’d be excited if Cenk were to express interest in running,” Trent said. “He’s exactly the candidate Justice Democrats would be willing to back.”
The group isn’t supporting De León, who has won plaudits from other national progressive organizations. Trent said he thought De León’s decision to run “seems too much like a campaign for political purposes and not enough like a campaign to promote policy.”
Uygur — whose name is pronounced “Jenk You-grr” — was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and emigrated to New Jersey with his family at age eight. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School, and worked as a lawyer in New York and Washington, D.C. before going into the news business.
After stints in talk radio, he co-founded The Young Turks, which became one of the first internet video news shows and attracted a huge following on the political left. Uygur, who lives in Los Angeles, has also worked for MSNBC and Current TV.
Cenk Uygur considering Senate run in California
idk how i feel about either of their chances, but i fukking hate feinstein. i wish that dinosaur would retire.
2018 California Senate race expected to get more crowded
(CNN)California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who announced earlier this week she would seek a fifth full term in 2018, is all but guaranteed to face a serious challenger next year. The question now: who can emerge from a potentially crowded field of ambitious progressives to take on the Democratic establishment favorite?
Kevin de León, the state Senate president, who CNN reported on Thursday intends to enter the race, is the early frontrunner to advance beyond June's open primary, along with Feinstein, into a one-on-one general election campaign. He was instrumental in moving a statewide single-payer health care bill through the state senate earlier this year and has been in contact with labor leaders and elected officials.
But even as de León prepares to make his move, billionaire Tom Steyer considers his next step and the wealthy activist Joe Sanberg flirts with a run, an unexpected name, though familiar to progressives, could soon join the contest.
The political journalist Ana Kasparian, co-host of The Young Turks online news show, is actively exploring a run, a source with knowledge of her plans tells CNN.
She would likely enter the fray with the support of the Justice Democrats, a grassroots liberal organization launched by Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks video network and Kasparian's frequent on-air partner.
Kasparian did not respond to a request for comment.
The Justice Democrats were formed around the movement that grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Their platform is largely in line with his program, and The Young Turks are broadly supportive of Sanders and the party's progressive wing.
Contacted on Friday by CNN, Justice Democrats communications director Corbin Trent wouldn't comment. A day earlier, without naming names, he said the group had planned to "launch another candidate, next week -- someone that's not announced at all yet."
"When you have a Congress that's so aggressively anti-woman, you have to do your best to not only maintain the level of representation, but to increase it," he said on Thursday, explaining one of the reasons the group would be backing a woman. "That's why (the Justice Democrats') slate is more than half women. The country is more than half women. And I don't think you can brush that side."
Kasparian joined the network as a host and producer a decade ago, according to her bio on the TYT Network website. She has also appeared as a contributor on MSNBC and RT, and taught journalism at California State University Northridge.
Feinstein, 84, announced on Monday she would run again. There had been rumors she was considering retirement. Kasparian, some five decades her junior and a critic of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 primary campaign, would seek to take on Feinstein from the left.
The state's open primary is slated for June 5, 2018. The top two two overall vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November. Feinstein has a significant power base in California, but she is a political moderate at a time when the Democratic rank-and-file is spoiling for fights with President Donald Trump -- and jabbing at each other over the direction of the party -- leaving her vulnerable, progressives believe, to being unseated next year.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/politics/california-senate-race-feinstein-challenge/index.html
Liberal online news host Cenk Uygur considering Senate run in California
Liberal news host Cenk Uygur is considering running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein next year, according to a California elected official who has talked with him about the race.
Uygur, the host of the popular online show The Young Turks and the co-founder of The Young Turks Network, is “seriously looking at” the race, the elected official said. “A lot of his audience is writing him saying he should run.”
CNN reported last week that Uygur’s co-host on The Young Turks, Ana Kasparian, was thinking about running. But Uygur is now also considering running, according to the elected official, and it’s expected that both hosts won’t run.
Uygur did not respond to a request for comment about the Senate race. But on his live show on Thursday afternoon, he suggested some kind of announcement is coming.
“Don’t miss the show next week,” he said in the first minutes of the broadcast. “Interesting. Just don’t miss it. I’ll leave it at that.”
A household name among many supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind.-Vt., Uygur launched The Young Turks in 2002 as a radio talk show and built it into a progressive media network with more than 3,400,000 subscribers on YouTube.
If he does decide to get in the race, Uygur would add a jolt of liberal energy to the field of challengers taking on Feinstein, who has represented California in the Senate since 1992. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León announced on Sunday that he was running against Feinstein. San Francisco philanthropist Tom Steyer and Los Angeles entrepreneur Joe Sanberg are also considering jumping in.
Uygur, 47, is the co-founder of Justice Democrats, a liberal group that is recruiting primary challengers to establishment Democrats. Corbin Trent, a spokesman for the group, declined to confirm whether Uygur is considering running for Senate.
“We’d be excited if Cenk were to express interest in running,” Trent said. “He’s exactly the candidate Justice Democrats would be willing to back.”
The group isn’t supporting De León, who has won plaudits from other national progressive organizations. Trent said he thought De León’s decision to run “seems too much like a campaign for political purposes and not enough like a campaign to promote policy.”
Uygur — whose name is pronounced “Jenk You-grr” — was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and emigrated to New Jersey with his family at age eight. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School, and worked as a lawyer in New York and Washington, D.C. before going into the news business.
After stints in talk radio, he co-founded The Young Turks, which became one of the first internet video news shows and attracted a huge following on the political left. Uygur, who lives in Los Angeles, has also worked for MSNBC and Current TV.
Cenk Uygur considering Senate run in California
idk how i feel about either of their chances, but i fukking hate feinstein. i wish that dinosaur would retire.
though.
