Will Vandenberg 🇺🇦
@willvandenberg.bsky.social
Finding hope in red and purple America. Always for underdogs & multiracial democracy. Regional mutt, raised in Maine. opinions=mine 🏳️🌈
BREAKING: Missouri's Amendment 4 has failed. Tuesday's election means future proposed constitutional amendments brought by the public will still need a simple majority of a statewide vote to pass. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)
Missouri voters reject Amendment 4, say no to making it harder to amend the state constitution
Because voters rejected Amendment 4, proposed state constitutional amendments brought by the public will still require a
kcur.org
Early results show Kansans rejecting constitutional amendment by wide margin | via @journalist-sherman.bsky.social, Jacinda Hall and @kansascarpenter.bsky.social #ksleg
Early results show Kansans rejecting constitutional amendment by wide margin • Kansas Reflector
Kansas voters were set to evaluate a proposed constitutional amendment that would spike a 68-year-old system for selecting justices for the highest court
kansasreflector.com
While Montana Democrats weigh legal options, Bankhead and Bodnar meet privately.
Montana Democrats roiled by Bankhead-or-Bodnar question
State party leaders get legal advice. Bankhead and Bodnar meet privately.
montanafreepress.org
Dark money, misleading claims flood Kansas ahead of judicial selection referendum | via @anna-writes.bsky.social and @crazeywriter.bsky.social #ksleg
Dark money, misleading claims flood Kansas ahead of judicial selection referendum • Kansas Reflector
Partisan donors have spent at least $12.8 million in Kansas on dozens of television ads and stacks of mailers, advocating for or against a ballot referendum that could determine the political temperat...
kansasreflector.com
"Sing it loud, New Hampshire: ‘We’re No. 1! We’re No. 1!’ Oh, wait, we’re not?" Commentary from @danawormald.bsky.social #NHPolitics
Sing it loud, New Hampshire: ‘We’re No. 1! We’re No. 1!’ Oh, wait, we’re not? • New Hampshire Bulletin
Even when you discount the latest lists and rankings, and we probably all should, July as a whole hasn’t been particularly kind to Republicans.
newhampshirebulletin.com
Josh Turek has plans to make life better for every Iowan. Now, Iowa, the ball is in your court. Let’s work to get @joshturek4iowa.bsky.social to the U.S. Senate. Turek4Iowa.com
Josh Turek@joshturek4iowa.bsky.social · last wk.Great game, Mr. President. 🏀 Iowa, you heard President Obama. The ball is in your court. Join our campaign and help us Push For Change: Turek4Iowa.com
Great piece from @jamellebouie.net on the most prominent white supremacist influencer in the world, who is also the richest man in the world www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...
Opinion | Elon Musk Is a Menace to Society
Why does the owner of X get a pass for what he says and does there?
nytimes.com
Beshear to McConnell: Provide ‘proof of your capacity to serve’ or leave office From @mckennahorsley.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/07/28/b...
Beshear to McConnell: Provide ‘proof of your capacity to serve’ or leave office • Kentucky Lantern
Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in a Monday letter to Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and his staff that the senator should “provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.”
kentuckylantern.com
Community and economic revitalization study: rural and red states need immigrants more than blue states. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | The states that need immigration most? You’d be surprised.
The policy that would help rural states most is one their voters and officials are most likely to resist.
washingtonpost.com
Get Out the Native Vote initiative galvanizes Alaska Native voters for the 2026 elections, writes @corinne-smith.bsky.social for the @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/22/g...
Get Out the Native Vote initiative galvanizes Alaska Native voters for the 2026 elections | Alaska Beacon
Get Out the Native Vote aims to turn around a decline in Alaska Native voter turnout through forging statewide partnerships, boosting voter education and outreach, and reducing logistical challenges
alaskabeacon.com
How can beautiful and unique communities that tourists love to visit keep their character when… tourists come to visit? Interesting research out of West Virginia. wvexplorer.com/wvu-tourism-...
WVU researchers help tourism communities grow without losing what makes them special - West Virginia Explorer
WVU researchers are helping rural communities in West Virginia use data to balance tourism growth with affordable housing, jobs, and conservation.
wvexplorer.com
SNAP = food assistance. MAGA cut off food for 1.5 million needy kids.
Katie Bergh@katiebergh.bsky.social · 2w ago🚨NEW: In the 9 months after last year’s reconciliation law enacted unprecedented SNAP cuts, the number of people receiving SNAP fell by more than 4.5 million. Based on available data, we estimate that at least 1.5 million fewer kids are receiving SNAP. www.cbpp.org/research/foo...
Ex-felon Neil DeSanti, a GOP activist who has spread Donald Trump's "election fraud" lies, was charged with false voter registration and illegal voting after failing to have his rights restored story via @jimsmall.bsky.social
Neil DeSanti, GOP candidate who pushed election fraud claims, indicted for voting illegally
Neil DeSanti indictment: Perennial GOP candidate faces 6 felonies for illegal voting and false voter registration in Arizona
azmirror.com
Mary Peltola raised more than three times the amount raised by Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan in the most recent three months, according to campaign finance reports.
Peltola raises millions more than Sullivan in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race
The race is one of a handful that could determine control of the chamber in the midterm elections.
adn.com
Democrats see an opening in rural states for the first time in decades. In Iowa, it’s about water "Iowa’s cancer rate has climbed significantly above the US average. It now stands as the nation’s 2nd highest, and Iowa is 1 of only 3 states where the rate is rising" www.politico.com/news/magazin...
‘Cancer Doesn't Care What Party You Belong To’: Poisoned Water Is Turning This Rural State Bluer
Democrats see an opening in rural states for the first time in decades. In Iowa, it’s about water.
politico.com
OPINION: "Within days of the Supreme Court weakening a key voting rights tool, politicians in the Blackest state in America were talking about erasing the only majority-Black congressional district," Duvalier Malone writes.
Opinion | Watch Mississippi to See the Future of Voting Rights
Duvalier Malone writes about the Louisiana v. Callais decision’s potential impact on Black voting rights in Mississippi and beyond.
buff.ly
Democrat throws support to independent running for Alaska’s U.S. House seat, reports Yereth Rosen for the @alaskabeacon.com
Democrat throws support to independent running for Alaska’s U.S. House seat | Alaska Beacon
Saying democracy is under threat,’ Matt Schultz suspended his campaign and urged support for independent Bill Hill to oust Nick Begich.
alaskabeacon.com
In November, Mainers will defeat Susan Collins, and we will take back our Senate seat from the billionaires and corporations who think they own it.
Opinion by @maxmccoy.com: The ‘developer’ of a Kansas data center swore under oath he wasn’t involved. My town is bamboozled. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/07/19/t...
The ‘developer’ of a Kansas data center swore under oath he wasn’t involved. My town is bamboozled. • Kansas Reflector
The debate over the data center proposal has been fierce in Emporia, mirroring arguments in Kansas and across the rest of the country.
kansasreflector.com
"What rural people are looking for is a stronger economy and good jobs, health care and education, etc. Whether it’s for rural people or urban people, that’s what really bestows dignity on people." barnraisingmedia.com/a-strategy-t...
A Strategy to Heal America’s Rural-Urban Divide
Suzanne Mettler has combined five decades of county-level analysis to understand why rural and urban America are so divided—and how we can heal.
barnraisingmedia.com
All of the candidates vying for Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination called to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during their first debate Thursday night, three days after ICE shot and killed a 25-year-old in Biddeford. mainemorningstar.com/2026/07/16/i...
Immigration dominates first Maine U.S. Senate debate days after fatal shooting • Maine Morning Star
All of the candidates vying for Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination called to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during their first debate Thursday night, three days after ICE…
mainemorningstar.com
Nebraska’s May primary election saw greater voter turnout among Democratic voters than Republicans for the first time in more than 30 years, according to an analysis by the Nebraska Examiner. From Juan Salinas II nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/07/17/d...
Dem turnout in Nebraska’s primary exceeded Republican for the first time in more than 30 years • Nebraska Examiner
Nebraska’s May primary election saw greater voter turnout among Democratic voters than Republicans for the first time in more than 30 years, according to an analysis by the Nebraska Examiner.
nebraskaexaminer.com
Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary labeled them as Chinese operatives — then acknowledged he didn't have evidence to back that up. Now two Utahns are suing him for defamation. #utpol utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/07/15/u...
Utahns sue O’Leary, Fox News over ‘smear campaign’ • Utah News Dispatch
Two months after he labeled them Chinese agents, two Utahns are suing celebrity investor and data center backer Kevin O’Leary.
utahnewsdispatch.com
Is Nebraska’s billionaire nepo baby US Senator Pete Ricketts behind the new “Working Peoples Party” to confuse voters, divide the vote against him, & slither to re-election against real working peoples hero @osbornforne.bsky.social? This is giving shady Andrew Cuomo Women’s Equality Party ‘14 vibes.
Nebraska Examiner@nebraskaexaminer.com · 3w agoThe groups behind the effort to establish two new Nebraska political parties submitted required signatures to get a ballot line this November. From Juan Salinas II buff.ly/U2orX4f
How we all feel when being forced to listen to Alexei Lalas give “expert” commentary on the FIFA World Cup.
The Maine Attorney General's Office is investigating the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian man by federal immigration agents Monday morning in Biddeford. mainemorningstar.com/2026/07/13/m...
Maine AG announces state investigation into fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford • Maine Morning Star
The Maine Attorney General's Office is investigating the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Colombian man by federal immigration agents Monday morning in Biddeford.
mainemorningstar.com
“The little girl was still in Bluey pajamas. No older than 3, she was trying to smell the flowers. “Her father, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, had just been fatally shot and yanked from a car he’d been driving. Now, he lay handcuffed in the street, where he would remain for five hours.”
“The Trump administration is laser-focused on making it harder for regular folk to vote. They want chaos, because chaos suppresses turnout.” story via @jerodmacevoy.com
Fearing troops or ICE at the polls, Arizona organizers train hundreds as election observers
Arizona election observer training: LUCHA prepared hundreds of observers to respond if ICE or National Guard show up at polling sites
azmirror.com
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was murdered by ICE. His three sons called him “El mundo entero” — the whole world. They watched as their whole world died in a video posted on Facebook. Lorenzo was our neighbor and fellow Texan. He deserves justice.
The ICE murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo deserves the same fury as Renee Good and Alex Pretti