Dems Have Another Very Good Night, Trump Is Dangerously Unwell, Rep. Haley Stevens Kicks Off Campaign to Remove RFK

Greetings from Los Angeles!

Morning all. Last night was a very good night to be among fellow Democrats from across the county. Here is what we did:

• Eileen Higgins blew out the Miami Mayor’s race, winning by 19 points, 59.5%-40.5%. In the last two years we’ve flipped Florida’s two largest cities, Jacksonville and Miami, and Mayor-Elect Higgins will be the first Dem in this office in almost 30 years

• In a Georgia state house special election our candidate Eric Gisler flipped a Trump +12 district, 51%-49%

• Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller won his run off 58%-42%

• In three special state house races in Florida and Iowa we saw Dems once again overperform our 2024 results by double digits

These results continue the encouraging trend we’ve seen this year all across the country of Dems outperforming our 2024 results by enormous margins. It is clear now that the national political landscape has shifted towards the Dems, depending on the measure, by at least 7 points and by some measures much much more. While the Miami result will be sending shockwaves throughout the Republican Party, the result in Georgia may be an even bigger shock to Congressional Rs in Washington. For if a Trump +12 district in Georgia is not safe that puts a whole lot of state and districts in play next year, and makes the Trump mid-decade redistricting strategy even riskier as they are now making what they arrogantly thought were safe Republican seats competitive ones.

It also needs to be said that we continue to see not only shifts in the battlefield, and something that feels like an early blue wave, but our margins of victory - in contested races with Republicans spending money - continue to be just jawdropping, stuff you just don’t see. In November we won statewide races in AK, CA, GA, ME by more than 20 points. Sherrill and Spanberger won by 13 and 15 points. Eileen Higgins, in a seat not held by Dems in almost 30 years, won by 19 points. Mayor Keller won by 16.

I got to spend time last night with party chairs, vice chairs and executive directors from Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, and Texas - and our good friend Jane Kleeb of course - and will be reporting in on what I’m learning in posts in the coming days. But the bottom line is that folks here at the State Chairs/DNC meeting in Los Angeles are fired up!

Here’s Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) President Jane Kleeb addressing our welcome reception last night. Jane is also a Vice Chair of the DNC and Chair of the Nebraska State Party:

And here I am with a very happy Charlie Bailey, state party chair of Georgia:

I want to thank everyone who supported Eileen Higgins. This was a huge, huge win for us, another sign that we are learning how to win in red states and red places, and that this has become a cycle of opportunity for us, indeed.

Trump Is Clearly Unwell - Not only was Trump’s performance in Pennsylvania last night unhinged and wild, the madman in chief posted this last night:

Paul Krugman has a great post this morning on Trump’s new attempt to rebrand, and bullshit the public his terrible regime: Trump Says That You Are The Problem: Everything Is Perfect. Why Aren’t You Grateful?

Some wonderful excerpts:

Last night Donald Trump gave an important speech on the economy in Pennsylvania — supposedly in a working-class area, although the actual venue was a luxury casino resort. The event was initially touted as the start of an “affordability tour,” the first of a series of speeches intended to reverse Trump’s cratering approval on his handling of inflation and the economy. A number of news analyses suggested that he would use the occasion to blame Democrats for the economy’s troubles.

That was never going to happen. Trump did, of course, take many swipes at Joe Biden, as well as attacking immigrants, women and windmills. But to blame Democrats for the economy’s problems he would have to admit that the Trump economy has problems. And the speech was important because it revealed that he won’t make any such admission, and will continue to gaslight the public.

On Monday Politico interviewed Trump, asking him, among other things, what grade he would give the current economy. His answer: “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”

In fact, until very recently Trump wouldn’t even accept the reality that ordinary Americans don’t share his triumphalism. When Fox News’s Laura Ingraham asked him a month ago why people are anxious about the economy, Trump replied

I don’t know they are saying that. The polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had.

And…..

So the “affordability tour” is off to a disastrous start. And it won’t get better, because while Trump insists that the problem is you, it’s actually him. And he isn’t going to change.

I hope folks noted that Trump’s first stop on his tour was in PA-08. And it’s because our great candidate there, Mayor Paige Cognetti, has them running scared. Learn more about her, watch our recent conversation and consider supporting her and other intrepid Dems working to flip red House seats blue here!

Rep. Haley Stevens And Stand Up For Science Launch Campaign To Remove Bobby Kennedy - LFG people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From the just released press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens formally introduced Articles of Impeachment against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing his dangerous actions that have endangered public health and gutted lifesaving medical research.

“Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has turned his back on science, on public health, and on the American people – spreading conspiracies and lies, driving up costs, and putting lives at risk,” said Congresswoman Stevens. “Under his watch, families are less safe and less healthy, people are paying more for care, lifesaving research has been gutted, and vaccines have been restricted. He has driven up health care costs while tearing down the scientific institutions that keep Michiganders and families across America safe. His actions are reckless, his leadership is harmful, and his tenure has become a direct threat to our nation’s health and security. Congress cannot and will not stand by while one man dismantles decades of medical progress.”

Rep. Stevens’ impeachment effort is supported by Stand Up for Science, an organization dedicated to defending and advancing America’s scientific ecosystem.

“RFK Jr.’s actions are negligent and will result in harm and loss of life. He must be impeached and removed,” said Colette Delawalla, Founder and CEO of Stand Up for Science. “As a scientist and a mother, I am not willing to go back to a time before robust public health interventions. For the first time in human history, we progressed from 30% of babies not making it to adulthood to over 98% surviving to adulthood because of modern medicine and vaccines. Eliminating effective public health interventions with proven track records and dismantling evidence-based science is not the way to promote health and reduce chronic illness. Stand Up For Science is ready to hold Secretary Kennedy accountable.”

And here’s a video Rep. Stevens released this morning:

More on this when I return but as I wrote to you a few days ago it is time now for Democrats to open new fronts against the regime, including waging sustained campaigns to degrade Trump’s malevolent advisors and force them to “defend the indefensible.” As they are weak and failing we simply must be acting with greater ambition now.

I also found this video about Trump selling out Ukraine and Europe to Putin to be a great example of what we need to be doing now:

We had another very encouraging night last night……..

Now, Let’s Get To Work People!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In two new essays (here, here) I talk about how one of the ways we win the 2026 midterms is by providing early support to our candidates and parties to allow them to staff up now, be loud now, define the terms of the debate now, before the inevitable onslaught on AI slop, Russian disinfo, and Trumpian lies funded through bribes and corruption wash across the land. The midterms could be won or lost in these next few months - not in the fall of 2026 - and we need be fighting now with everything we got.

Winning The Midterms - Support Our 2026 Candidates

• Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $57k raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my conversation with Gov. Cooper

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $102k raised, $250,000 goal, - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff

• Hopium Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $36,000 raised, $50,000 goal - Donate to all four endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Enjoy our new conversations with Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Mayor Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), and Janelle Stelson (PA-10)

Expanding The Senate and Electoral College Maps, Winning In Red States and Red Places (2026-2032)

• Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $225,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas | Donate to all five state parties in a single contribution | Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties!

Winning The Big Arguments With Trump, Making Hopium Stronger - We have two recommended actions today:

1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Five-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our now five part agenda:

1. Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia; demand Congress rebuke/issue a no confidence vote on his current efforts to force Ukraine to surrender

2. Congress must stand forcefully for rule of law in the Caribbean - these illegal strikes must end; no war can be waged without Congressional approval; there must accountability for those who have broken the law

3. Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world

4. Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE; restoring due process for immigrants across the country; vigorously defending the 1st Amendment; warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents; ending the use of the military on our streets and the unlawful occupation of our cities; stopping the unprecedented corruption; and by forcing the Administration to finally comply with Congress, end the rancid cover up, and release all of the Epstein files

5. Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA and Medicaid; support and co-sponsor Rep. Haley Stevens’ effort to Impeach and remove Robert Kennedy

2 - Celebrate America, Our Constitution, Our 250th Birthday By Bringing Our Resolutions Project To Your Community - Next year, on July 4th, America celebrates it’s 250th birthday. We need to make this holiday, a celebration of our Declaration Of Independence from a mad king, our day, and not allow it to become his.

One way we can do this is by bringing our Resolutions Project to your community or state. Imagine if by July 4th of next year a large number of towns, counties and states had passed formal resolutions, in the spirit of our Declaration of Independence, defending our Constitution and condemning the “injuries,” “abuses,” and “usurpations” of our mad king. For as our Founders wrote in the Declaration:

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

So far Hopium members have introduced or passed resolutions in 85 communities in 23 states. In the coming days we will be convening to discuss how to bring this campaign to more places and start planning to Own The Fourth next year.

Still drawing inspiration from this passage from FDR’s Four Freedoms speech:

In times like these it is immature--and incidentally, untrue--for anybody to brag that an unprepared America, single-handed, and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.

No realistic American can expect from a dictator’s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion - or even good business.

Such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. “Those, who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.

We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the “ism” of appeasement.

We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests.

I have recently pointed out how quickly the tempo of modern warfare could bring into our very midst the physical attack which we must eventually expect if the dictator nations win this war.

Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!

Keep working hard all, and remember Hopium is hope with a plan. We do not hope tomorrow will be better than yesterday. We do the work to make it so - Simon