Downballot Races Offer Abundant Drama

The eyes of the world are on Election Day’s biggest prize: The White House.

Will Donald J. Trump become the first president to win nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland did so in 1892? Or will Vice President Kamala Harris become America’s first woman chief executive? Nobody knows. Today’s RealClearPolitics opinion poll average has Trump at 48.6 percent and Kamala at 48.7 percent.

The suspense is Hitchcockian. Whether this picture concludes with a happy ending or Technicolor tragedy is anyone’s guess. Another mystery: Will this epic end tonight or unspool through the weekend?

Meanwhile, hundreds of other races appear on ballots across America. These five are worth watching:

Cruz v. Allred for U.S. Senate in Texas

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas) has been locked in a tight race against Rep. Colin Allred (D–Texas). Cruz’s reelection bid should be easier in the right-leaning Lone Star State. However, Allred has one key advantage: He feels far less far-left than he really is. If Allred appeared as wild-eyed, rumpled, and revolutionary as, say, Cornel West, Cruz would be cruising to reelection.

Instead, Allred follows the example of Rules for Radicals author Marvin Alinsky. He urged hard leftists to stop taking fashion cues from the Weather Underground. Instead, they should clean up, don business suits, and look like Rotarians. In 1972, Playboy magazine described Alinsky himself as “a bespectacled, conservatively dressed community organizer who looks like an accountant and talks like a stevedore.”

Thus, with a youthful smile, pleasant demeanor, and a perfectly shaved head, Allred recalls a McKinsey consultant. (And, when the chips are down, is there anything on Earth more reassuring than a cheerful black man with a shaved head?)

Allred’s moderate presentation, however, cannot conceal his hard-left record. His 2023 American Conservative Union rating — 0 is most liberal; 100 most conservative — is a 5. That puts Allred further left than Cruz is right, given the GOP incumbent’s score: 89.

Consider three salient issues:

• Allred recently declared: “I don’t want boys playing girls’ sports.” Hmmm… So, then, why did Allred vote against H.R. 5, the Parental Bill of Rights? It would require schools to notify parents if single-sex sports opened to cross-gender competition. He also voted against H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would bar biological males from school athletics reserved for biological females.
• Allred said that he hoped to “address the border crisis.” Nonetheless, he voted against the Secure the Border Act, against the POLICE Act (which would deport illegal aliens who assault cops), and against the SAVE Act (which would stymie foreign citizens who try to vote in federal elections). Allred also said: “If they build that racist wall, my generation is the one that is going to tear it down.”
• Between 2019 and 2022, Allred voted with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D–San Francisco) 100 percent of the time. This included the $433 billion so-called Inflation Reduction Act. This particularly rebarbative measure uses taxpayer dollars to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. They, in turn, will hound taxpayers from coast to coast.

Thanks a billion, Colin!

Johnson v. Lee for U.S. House (Nevada-03)

Incumbent Rep. Susie Lee is a suburban Las Vegas Democrat with solid-left credentials. Her 2023 ACU rating (7) is bad. Her lifetime score (5) is even worse. Lee also votes with Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time.

Lee distinguishes herself as one of Washington’s most unethical lawmakers. According to ShadySusieLee.com, she “has 203 (& counting) violations of the Stock Act. She has made more money off insider trading than any member of Congress. To put that into perspective, Martha Stewart went to prison for one count of insider trading. Susie Lee has more than 203.”

ShadySusieLee.com adds: “During her time in Congress, Shady Susie has been caught making more than $3.3 million worth of stock trades that she illegally failed to disclose using her insider knowledge as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

This website is sponsored by Lee’s Republican challenger, Drew Johnson. The 45-year-old columnist, policy analyst, and think-tank leader is an old friend from the free-market movement. He is precisely the sort of conservative pundit who makes a humble political commentator look in the mirror and ask, “Why not?”

Johnson launched the Tennessee Center for Public Policy Research, which famously highlighted an inconvenient truth: Al Gore is an electricity hog. Johnson also exposed $60 billion in boondoggles that lawmakers actually eliminated.

While fundraising has been a challenge, another concern is a recent court decision to let mail-in ballots drift in and be counted up to three days after polls close tonight — even without postmarks!

“Two years ago, I won one of the most important races in the state on Election Day by more than 2,900 votes,” Johnson told me. “Five days later, after thousands of unpostmarked ballots were received, I was told I had lost the race by 336 votes. It’s hard to have faith in the system after that. But, there were also 24,000 Republicans who did not vote in my district. So, I’ve focused on swamping the vote by ensuring the turnout is so strong among GOP and conservative-leaning nonpartisan voters that we win, no matter what improper behavior occurs on the margins.”

Johnson suggest “a very simple solution,” starting in 2026: “Nevada should follow the leads of many other states and require mail ballots to arrive before midnight on Election Night. If people are expected to be responsible enough to get a payment for a water bill or an RSVP to a wedding mailed in by a certain date, I have faith that voters can submit their ballots on time.”

If nothing else, Drew Johnson deserves a medal for treating voters like adults and expecting them to focus, respect deadlines, and secure postmarks. The IRS accepts no less. Why should election officials?

Hochman v. Gascón for D.A.

Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman seems poised to oust Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Hochman’s campaign ad promises that he would “actually prosecute criminals.” While this sounds like Captain Obvious, having an L.A. County DA who actually prosecutes criminals has become “Stop the presses!” breaking news.

If Gascón were any softer on crime, he would be cotton candy. No offender seems too dangerous or evil for Gascón to throw the book at him.

Gascón’s critics cite at least nine shootings and six murders that could have been prevented, had Gascón prosecuted criminals rather than weep for them. Consider:

• In 2021, Justin Flores was a 35-year-old L.A. gang member who police busted for firearm possession while a felon. Due to Flores’ previous violent-felony conviction, Gascón could have made him face up to six years behind bars. Instead, Flores got 20 days in jail plus probation.

On June 14, 2023, Flores was freer than a bird when he ambushed and fatally shot El Monte Police Officers Joseph Santana and Michael Paredes before he killed himself.

• Estrellas “Star” Rojas, 18, belonged to the Rancho San Pedro street gang. When Rojas was caught with a loaded Ruger 9 mm handgun, Gascón insisted on misdemeanor firearm-possession charges rather than a felony indictment. Rojas plead guilty and was sentenced to one year of probation and an Internet “gun safety” class.  Rojas must have slept through that course. On January 20, he opened fire in San Pedro’s Machista Bar and shot three people. Two survived. Tyrone Tyars, a father of two, did not.
• After repeat offender Jonathan Madden got busted for firearms possession while a felon, in February 2021, and that May, for narcotics sales, Gascón prohibited his prosecutors from requesting bail high enough to keep Madden behind bars pre-trial. Instead, Madden posted bail — twice.

Too bad for Taco Bell staffer Alejandro Garcia. On Jan. 8, 2023, Garcia questioned Madden about passing a counterfeit $20 bill. So, Madden shot him to death.

Polls show Hochman about to crush Gascón in Democrat-rich L.A. County. This should hammer the George-Soros-funded “take a killer to lunch” school of “law enforcement.” Coupled with San Francisco voters’ June 2022 defeat of far-Left “prosecutor” Chesa Boudin (a literal son of domestic terrorists), Gascón’s loss could slash the tires on the Defund the Police and Free the Criminals bandwagons.

And not a second too soon. As Hochman’s campaign slogan states: “Enough is enough.”

Yes on Proposition 36

Californians also have had it with Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that essentially decriminalized shoplifting. So long as thieves steal less than $950 per incident, prosecutors rarely press these now-misdemeanor charges. Prop. 36 restores common sense, fundamental decency, and criminal penalties for retail theft. One survey last month predicted landslide support for Prop. 36: 75 percent Yes to 25 percent No. Indeed, 67 percent of Democrats now reject the peaceful, easy feeling toward common crooks.

Thus, it was a no-brainer for latter-day conservative Kamala Harris to tell journalists how she voted by mail on this measure. Instead, she said in Detroit: “I am not gonna talk about the vote on that because, honestly, it’s the Sunday before the election, and I don’t intend to create an endorsement, one way or the other.”

Is Kamala afraid to upset her far-Left friends by backing Prop. 36? Or does she fear that she will alienate hundreds of millions of normal Americans by standing with shoplifters, perhaps in the name of “equity?”

Rather than state her convictions, one way or the other, Kamala leads from behind, around the corner, out of sight, and — perhaps after tonight — out of mind.

No on Proposal 1

New Yorkers vote today on changing the Empire State’s constitution. Proposal 1, an “Amendment to Protect against Unequal Treatment,” has been dubbed the Equal Rights Amendment. It contains vague, feel-good nondiscrimination language. Its Rorschach-blot text can be interpreted as either the next step in civil rights or a rocky path to peak Wokeness.

The Democrat Left demands Prop. 1’s passage to protect — what else? — abortion! For Democrats these days, all roads lead to abortion. This seems to be their sole unifying concern. Never mind that Prop. 1 does not mention abortion — pro or con.

“Prop. 1 is truly a Trojan Horse,” says John J. Faso, a former GOP congressman from upstate New York and a leading Prop. 1 foe. “It would create constitutional rights based on ‘gender identity or expression,’ undermining parental control over healthcare decisions for their minor children and also allowing biological males into women’s sports.”

Indeed, former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines is a vocal opponent of Prop. 1. She endured the indignity of competing against the University of Pennsylvania’s mediocre male swimmer, William Thomas, who identified as a woman, called himself Lia Thomas, and began hoarding medals as a female athlete — never mind that he reportedly kept his girlfriend and his penis.

Faso added that Prop. 1 “also establishes a state constitutional right to nondiscrimination based on ‘national identity,’ opening the door to foreign-citizen voting, which NY Dems already are promoting. Lastly, it creates a DEI-type protection for ‘reverse discrimination’ programs.”

Why should Prop. 1 concern Americans beyond New York? Faso warns: “This progressive agenda will surely flow into other states unless we can stop it here.”

Polls close soon. If you have yet to vote, this would be a great time to do so.

Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News Contributor.

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