Sweet Victories
By 
If the lead holds in official returns, Kim would become the fourth New Jersey Democrat to win a seat previously held by a Republican in Tuesday’s midterm election, joining Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th, Tom Malinowski in the Seventh, and Jeff Van Drew in the Second.
MacArthur, 58, was a big target for Democrats. He encountered a surge of suburban activism and an electorate’s deep anxiety over health care in his quest for a third term.
Kim, 36, faced months of relentless attacks in two media markets by MacArthur and allied super PACs.
A former insurance executive, MacArthur was the only New Jersey congressman to vote for the tax bill, which capped deductions on state and local taxes, and helped craft an amendment that rescued the ultimately failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Though he stressed bipartisan credentials, he was the New Jersey congressman most closely aligned with President Trump’s agenda.
Who can forget MacArthur’s brilliant negotiating, in which he agreed to support ACA repeal in exchange for the Freedom Caucus making the bill even more to its liking? Anyway, it’s weird how many supporters of ACA repeal lost despite Republicans having won the messaging war, producing a bill supported by nearly 20% of the American public.
And from the best coast, Прощай:
He’s been called “Putin’s favorite congressman,” but if that’s true, the Russian president might soon have to find a new favorite: Pro-Russia Republican California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher appears to be headed for a narrow defeat against Democratic challenger Harley Rouda in California’s 48th congressional district.
Rouda is leading Rohrabacher 50.7 percent of the vote to 49.3 percent, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office. However, mail-in ballots can be received until Friday, and the final vote likely won’t be certified until December.
Rohrabacher earned his appellation for his dogged opposition of the Magnitsky Act, which barred members of the Vladimir Putin regime allegedly involved in the death of Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky from entering the U.S. or accessing American banks, according to Politico.
Rohrabacher even says he once drunkenly arm wrestled with Putin in the 1990s, according to ABC News.