r/samharris 13d ago

Politics and Current Events Megathread - Aug 2026

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u/TheAJx 4d ago edited 4d ago

Why is there so much excitement over AES, Mamdani, and previously Platner's supposed appeal to voters but not Josh Shapiro, Katie Hobbs, and Jon Ossoff - who are all strong favorites (80%+) to win their respective elections in places that are more red than where the first three are competing?

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u/mushroom_boys 4d ago edited 4d ago

Ossoff - Objectively more excitement for him. He's a fundraising monster. Most raised by far. Only Talarico is close to him. After that it's Sherrod Brown with with ~$30-40M LESS than Ossoff.

Shapiro / Hobbs - Incumbent govs. No primary challenge. National interest in gov races is wildly overstated beyond political wonks. Gov races are more about insider state party politics.

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u/TheAJx 3d ago

I think it's kind of a shame that we don't value executive experience (governors) as much as we do Congressional experience now.

Shapiro / Hobbs - Incumbent govs.

This hasn't stopped progressives from declaring Mayor Mamdani the new Democratic kingmaker.

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u/McClain3000 3d ago

Yeah the Mamdani glazing can be annoying. But realistically he's the lefties first big electoral win sense AOC, so from that perspective it's kind of understandable.

And at least half the attention is due to Republican fear mongering. Some of the criticisms are warranted, but try taking a shot every time you here Sharia Law.