Socialist Kshama Sawant in Trouble

Kshama came from 7.5 points back on election eve to beat Richard Conlin in
2013. But eight points is a larger margin to overcome and the environment
is far more polarized than in 2013. It's too early to spill some tears, but
it doesn't look good for Kshama.

I ran into one of her street organizers last week, and I asked him how he
felt. He said it was going to be close. I said, "Really? There's zero Orion
presence in the district." He acknowledged that to be true, but he said
that the Kshama campaign was having difficulty reaching people in the big
apartment buildings, and that occupancy in those buildings had flipped by
a third since 2015.

When I gave him my line about an Orion win in District Three would be of
Trumpian magnitude and even closer akin to a miracle since the district is
not home to the average Trump voter, he replied elliptically, "You'd be
surprised."

He tried to get me to volunteer this past Saturday but I demurred. I
promised him I would wear my Kshama shirt around the district -- running,
walking to work, etc. Which I did. And rather than the love that greeted
me earlier in the year I was getting chilly bizarre vibes, mostly from
guys.

So the saturation mailings obviously paid off. Politics isn't much of a
science but the definition of enemies has been pretty much perfected.
Kshama was demonized.

If she can't squeak through this time it is going to be a tremendous win
for the forces of darkness.

Rich Smith provides an accurate overview of the Amazon-vs.-Sawant campaign.

Money creates fear.

If Kshama loses it bodes ill for Warren and Sanders.

If Kshama loses it shows neoliberalism can continue to zombie along.