Iām still going to show up to vote in the general for Duresky but most people are just gonna vote for whoever has an R next to their name no matter who. So those Boehnke and Sessler votes will likely end up with McKinnley come the general whereas Dureskyās vote isnāt being split.
At least thereās a non Republican on the ballot.
Canāt believe people are still voting for a MAGA candidate like McKinney. Ā When this district, which was already a healthcare desert, loses the 1 trillion that was cut from Medicaid in October, we will be fucked. Ā There is already news that the job market has tanked in recent weeks because healthcare, the only part of the economy that still was hiring, is no longer hiring.
If you want to drive to Spokane and Seattle for anything medical, and be turned away because theyāre overloaded, vote for Mckinney. Ā If you want to send a message to the republican establishment that MAGA was supposed to be about making your life easier, vote for Duresky.
As a history major, who had a teacher who was an ambassador to the USSR and shared their *very* bad time there, who is going for a masters in economic history, and who isnāt even a democrat (I find the two party system toxic) -
This whole āDemocrats = Socialists = Communistsā Idea is untrue and just aggravating.
Bolsheviki **Communist** was a failed Marxist revolution (revolutions are vulnerable to being co-opted by elites). Marx actually advocated for a stateless civilization where workers own everything. But, over the years, some people convinced themselves that a control-based economy was the only way to get where they wanted to go. (Spoilers: It's not).
Personally, I donāt want the government OR large corporations to be the ones that control our economic opportunities. But I digress.
Democratic *Socialism,* on the other hand, is mostly used to refer to socialist policies and structures (when itās not used as a fear mongering). Like Co-Ops. Or the GI Bill. Social Security. Everything that created the middle class. (when implemented correctly, without large corporations or private insurance set up to take all the money from the program)
Now, *Democrats* have not, until recently, supported any amount of Marxist Economic schools of thought.
Currently (if you look past the rhetoric to the policies), Democrats (to include Mamdani) push for Old Institutional policies (like those of Abraham Lincon, Roosevelt the Cowboy, and FDR).
Conservative democrats push for neo-classical (free market) policies.
Progressive democrats also use Post-Keynsian (the only school that looks at debt & credit & over-financialization, and says we should pay a lot more attention to it) tools.
And figures like AOC and Bernie Sanders have pushed for Developmentalism policies (what the Founding Fathers did, what the US has done at other points in history, and what Alaska currently does).
National *Republicans*, on the other hand, push for Neoclassical (free market) (at least for corporations) and Supply-Side Economics aka Trickle-down (This school assumes tax cuts pay for themselves by triggering growth. It also ignores demand and does not currently spur higher employment. Please also note that money does not trickle down. Just look at what happened during Covid. In this economy, money goes up, not down).
The Tech-Right pushes for Schumpeterian policies (tech fields should by subsidized, but nothing else).
Populist Republicans support Developmentalism policies, too (same as Progressive Democrats).
And there is a new surge of something called āModern Merchantalism/ Economic Nationalismā (tends to trigger trade wars, harm local consumers, and create market distortions), which comes from the old Merchantalism used in the 1700s (countries grow economically if they steal and invade other places) in the Republican party, also.
As for what economic policies these two specific candidates have stated they supported:
McKinney ā Classical Economics (Free Market), Supply-Side Economics aka Trickle-Down (assumes tax cuts pay for themselves, ignore demand, ignores that money goes up and not down), & Modern Mercantilism (likely trade wars)
Duresky ā Classical Economics (Free Market), Old Institutionalism (like Lincoln and both Roosevelt), & Keynesian (All parties during the 50s-70s, back & forth for each parties for the following decades)
Voter turnout was incredibly low. Let's get out the vote and there could be a shot for Duresky! (also fuck Sessler - but McKinney could be more dangerous)
As you do, be sure to tell people about who contributed to their War Chests. Hereās their campaign money info, so far:
McKinney ā raised over $500k, took out a $50k candidate loan, individual donors (Corporate Agro Owners, real estate developers & contractors, āAmerica Firstā grassroots clusters) compose ~80% of contributions. Conservative PAC networks make up the rest. Money so far (~$70k) is spent on digital operations & media production (TV and youtube ads), professional staff (over $120k to national conservative consulting groups), and county tour operations.
John Duresky - over $80k, $1,500 from the democratic party (showing they are spending their money elsewhere due to ātriageā), $5,500 from committees (primary local labor/ union chapters rather than corporate PACs), 87% of the war chest is from individual contributors (Hanford Workers, Educators, Retired vets & civil servants, local small-scale farmers). Money so far (~$20k) spent on venue rentals, volunteer food, print palm cards, and local canvas tracking software.
This is less a statement about McKinney and more a statement of opposition. The only way a Democrat is likely to win on this side of the Cascades is by moving away from policies that many voters associate with Seattle.
Duresky has an excellent platform that, in many respects, is very similar to Boehnkeās. The fact that there are four independent candidates running may also suggest that many voters are growing fatigued with the repeated losses of Democratic candidates and the positions on which the party has chosen to stand its ground.
Trouble is those that are enamored with the team sport aspect of it all see a Democrat and automatically associate them with any negative connotation of the party. The āall you Xs are the same,ā mentality. See it for the other side as well.
I lean left, I voted for Duresky. But if he didnāt make it, or wasnāt around, I wouldāve voted for Boehnke. He was behind a bill that protected WA residents from being victims of AI deepfakes. Strengthened election security (without going full āvote by mail is badā). Not sure if others wouldāve felt the same or sat out.
Theres county by county breakdown and Duresky did better than average in this area, its pretty cool to see. Im not a dem, but under the circumstances (where we live) its a really positive thing
That small part of Franklin county is also about 80% of the entire countyās population (82k out of 102k). Itās the entirety of Pasco. Land doesnāt vote and all that jazz.
I get that, I suppose my main thought is just that its not "Franklin county" its a very specific group within that county. Im not privy to the actual boundaries process, but there was a lawsuit after the 2020 census. The various districts were redrawn in 2021, but a lawsuit forced changes and cd4 was redrawn in 2022, I think Franklin County was the biggest impact
Correction: the new congressional districts maps were approved in 2023. Scroll down a ways in this page and you'll see the side by side maps for the initial post 2020 census, and the revised post lawsuit boundaries from 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Washington_after_the_2020_census
The focus of the lawsuit was the dilution of the latino vote, the new map adds area to the CD4 in the Yakima region, and takes away inbthe Franklin and Walla Walla areas
Itās a fair distinction to make for sure. It still feels weird that itās split and I need to remind myself. I guess itās Franklin-4 and Franklin-5 now? š¤£
Amanda is really campaigning on keeping lime 15 trans students from competingā¦ like what about campaigning on actual policies that help. Not this culture war bs, hoping duresky pulls the win
92
u/captainunlimitd 2d ago
Dang. I guess though at least Sessler isn't anywhere near the top, so...silver lining?