Mike's blog

7 days to go until the election and America looks more and more divided. The far right and left seems to have taken over the discussion in both major parties. This can be a big problem if these extreme candidates get elected for they will divided America more and more. America needs moderate leaders lest we cease to be a united society. America needs to say no to violence on both sides of the spectrum. Gridlock and extremism will ruin America. Research every person you vote for. do not take the easy way out by just voting party line. There are extremist on both sides that you might not want in office even if they are on your side of the political spectrum. Be an informed voter not a rubber stamp in the 2016 election.

There is only one week left until the election and time is running out. Make sure you plan your election day and save time for voting. Plan ahead for this is an important election. Make sure that you vote early if you are not sure if you can vote on Tuesday. Time is running out if you want to vote early so vote early now. No matter the weather get out and vote in this critical election.

With 8 days to go until the midterm election there have not been much change in the polls. Even with major surprise events this week the polls are staying the same. This shows that many voters are fixed in the ways. Even with the polls showing little change take them with a grain of salt for they were way off in 2016.

With 9 days to go until the election another act of senseless violence has happened. A Neo-Nazi shoot up a Jewish synagogue during there Saturday services. At least 11 were killed in this act of violence. He got into a shootout with the cops and has been arrested and charged with premeditated murder among many other crimes in both state and federal court. If found guilty he would face either the death penalty of life in prison. His first court appearance will most likely be tomorrow. The President and leaders of both parties have condemned his actions. The President has called for him to get the death penalty. I condemn the killing of innocent humans as murder and as most evil and criminal. I think that Nazism is an evil ideology. Nazism lead to world war 2 the largest was in the history of the world. They also tried to kill every jew they could find along with many other groups they did not like. They put millions to death for no reason but hate and fought an unjust war of conques

10 Days to go until the election and the bomber has be arrested in Florida. He was arrested in a van and the van was also taken. He had many bumper stickers on the van. Nobody was hurt by his senseless mail bombings. The President and politicization on both sides of the political spectrum have condemned the action and the violence. The Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke also and condemned the attacker. The effects of this on the midterms is yet to be seen. I Personally condemn all political violence as evil and wrong and hope it stops. There has been too much of it the past few years. From Chancellorsville, to the Congressional baseball practice, to this there has been too much going on and it needs to stop. People on the far right and far left need to calm down and become peaceful again lest innocent people get hurt again for no reason. When will this senseless action stop? Lets follow our leaders on both sides and say no to violence.

With 12 days to go the elections is very near. Make sure to vote no matter what the polls say for they could be wrong like in 2016. Research every race and issue even the down ballot and issues for the local races will affect you more directly then federal issues and are just as important. If you cannot make it on election day then make sure to vote early. Get out and vote!

There was an attempt on former President Obama's life today along with CNN news. President Trump has condemned the action today. No matter what party you belong to political violence is wrong and attempted murder is wrong. What America needs now is Peace. Why cant we be Friends?

With two weeks left the election is near. Remember to vote in this important election. Even though the polls show a likely split in Congress in Ohio the governors races is close. Still vote for every race for the polls could be wrong. In 2016 they said the Democrats would win both the Presidency and the Senate. The opposite happened. In 2002 they said the Democrats would win the senate and that did not happen. In 2000 they said that the Democrats would win the presidency and that did not happen. Get out and vote.

With 15 days to go the polls are showing mixed messaging. Trump's popularity is now more than Obama's was during his own first midterm. The generic ballot still gives the democrats a large lead. The popular vote is still likely Democrat and the house leans Democrat. The state races and Senate lean Republican. In Ohio nothing has changed.

It appears that now there is an October Surprise. Over the past few mounts many people have fled the country of Venezuela into central america. This has lead to people fleeing in the past few weeks from central america into Mexico. It is likely in the next Few weeks the will be many people fleeing Mexico into America. It is also likely that the President will not like it. This could be a game changer for the midterm elections. 

With 20 Days to go until the election both early voting and absentee voting is already underway. The first votes of 2018 have already been cast but will not be counted until election night. The polls have stayed the same for now but could change if an October surprise happens. Even with these votes happening election day will still matter for most will vote on that day and no votes will be counted until then. The race will not end until that day comes but it is near.

With 3 weeks to go until the election, the results are confusing based off of the polls at the federal level. The Senate is likely Republican while the House leans Democrat. The Popular vote is Likely Democrat. This means that one party will most likely gain in one house and the other party will most likely gain in the other house. There is a chance the polls might be off again like in 2016. At the state level the United States Senate race is solid (safe) Democrat. That is vary rare for a swing state like Ohio but it looks like the Republicans Senate campaign is collapsing. For Governor the race is still a tossup. It is rare to have a split so big between the two offices so the polls also might be off. The down ballot races mostly remain the same as last week.

They have very important roles according to the Constitution. They pass election laws that can affect the entire country. They determine the Congressional Districts for the state. They can call provided 2/3 concur a constitutional convention to re-write the federal Constitution. They can ratify new constitutional amendments provided 3-4th's of them concur. If state conventions are called to ratify amendments they decide it's format. They decide how the presidential electors are selected. The are the office nearest to the people who can have a national impact.

Governors are very important along with state legislatures. They are the highest state office and have the most power in almost every state. They also get to fill any vacancy to the U.S. Senate that occurs during there term. Something to look out for is to see which party gets a majority of these offices in America. Just as there can be a trifecta in presidential election years so to can there be in the midterm years. This can happen by winning the house senate, and governors races at both the state and federal level. Governors races therefore can take on a national nature even though they are state offices. An important function of there office is especially seen during emergencies. They along with the President insure the safety of there residents. When disaster strikes a good Governor is very important along with a good President.

With 25 days to go until the election the are important things to understand about election ratings and polls. First sometimes the polls can be wrong. In 2016 the polls said the Hillary would win and the Democrats would take the Senate in a blue wave when the opposite occurred. Second, the winner of the popular vote does not always win the majority. In 2016 the Democrats won the majority of votes for president and lost and in 2012 the Democrats won the most votes for congress and lost. Elections can be rated Safe, Likely, Leaning, and Tossup. If the race is called safe then the polls show that there is no realistic chance of the opponent winning. An example would be being up over 20 points in the polls. It is very rare for the polls to be wrong. A likely race is one where there is a clear forerunner bust an upset would not be a complete shock. A leaning race is one where the leader is just outside the margin of error. It would be an upset but not by much. A tossup is a race within

4 weeks away from the election and the voter registration deadline has come and gone. Early voting has also started in many states. The Senate election leans Republican based off of the latest polls. The House election is a tossup. State elections are also rated as tossups. The Popular vote is likely Democrat. In Ohio the U.S. Senate race is likely to go to the Democrats. The Congressional race is Safe Republican. State Congressional popular vote is tossup. The Governors race is a tossup. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasure, and Auditor Race are also tossups. The State Supreme Court races lean Republican. The Republicans already have a state Supreme Court Majority and could get all 7 seats. The state court races and county races are all likely Republican. The State Senate is Safe Republican. The State House is Likely Republican. The Popular vote is Likely Republican. The State Board of Education race is Safe Republican. In Cuyahoga County the Executive race is safe

30 days are left until the midterm election. The Republicans have surged in the Senate polls but the Democrats are still in the lead in the House race. At the State level there is also very much at stake. The Republicans are leading in both the Governors race and State Senate Race currently. The new Governor and State Senate along with the General Assembly elected in 2020 will draw Ohio's new Congressional districts after the 2020 census is over. That means those elections will affect the state and even federal races for Ohio is a swing state until 2032. The Governor along with the majority and minority leader of both state houses and the 4 other statewide elected officers like the attorney general and the secretary of state will form the state redistributing commission. They will redraw the State Senate, State House, and State Board of Education districts after the next census. Since they will have a say in the next redistricting cycle the commission will affect state and Federa

The Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The President then singed the appointment into law and Judge Kavanaugh accepted appointment to the supreme court. Kavanaugh was then given he Constitutional oath by former Justice Kennedy who he is succeeding. Then the Chief Justice administered the Judaical Oath. He was then seated in Justice Marshal's seat and given the Supreme Court Robe. Then the Court formerly meet to formally install him as the 9th current Justice. The President was absent from  these ceremonies. He gave a victory speech at a re-election campaign event for Congress at a location across the country that enraged protesters. Dozens were arrested protesting but the protest were mostly peaceful. There will be a ceremonial event Monday night at the White House with Kavanaugh giving an inaugural address.

Today the Republicans invoked cloture in a 51-49 vote to end a Democratic filibuster on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Only one Democrat voted yea and only one Republican voted nay. The debate is now limited to 30 more hours. Tomorrow between midnight and noon the senate's current debate meeting will recess and then reconvene starting a new legislative day. After the final 30 hours are finished there will be the final vote on confirmation and the motion to reconsider. If it passes then the President can sign the appointment in to law. If it fails it fails. If it is a tie like always the Vice President has the tiebreaker and he himself supports the nominee. 51 Senators have pledged on the floor to vote yea on the final vote and 49 have said they will vote nay. That means the yea's with the tiebreaker have a 52-59 advantage. The nays need to flip two votes to change there mind. It is very unusual for a Senator to change there mind after voting for clo

With 5 weeks to go until the midterm election the Supreme Court has been the biggest issue so far. The FBI has announced that they have ended there investigation and will announce the results around 8 am tomorrow. The Senate majorly has entered a cloture petition to end the minority party's hold. the minority is expected to filibuster starting tomorrow to stop a vote. As early as 1 am Friday the Majority can call for a Cloture vote and put an end to the filibuster by limiting debate. The vote will require a majority only to pass. They expect to limit debate to 30  hours if the vote passes. If has made both sides angry at the other side and has made the final choice difficult for the swing state Senators. With the midterm election about 1 month away this might not just effect the courts for a generation but also the house and senate.