Middleboro Review and so on

Why did we think Democrats had a real shot at flipping not one but two Republican seats in special elections last night? Two words: Ron DeSantis. In both races, the pattern was strikingly similar. DeSantis appoints a GOP lawmaker to a different post, then refuses to schedule a special election until someone files a lawsuit. It’s a real tell. If DeSantis had felt confident about defending both seats, then why not hold elections as soon as possible? The answer, of course, is that he didn’t. We pay close attention to the hard data—election results, fundraising figures, poll numbers—but the actions of powerful politicians can be just as revealing. Separating the signal from the noise is seldom straightforward, but we’ve honed our skills over more than two decades. Recognizing patterns is something we excel at, and using them to provide context is what distinguishes our analysis from all the rest. If you appreciate the long experience we bring to our coverage of overlooked elections, then w...