Since we're starting to hear about more and more announcements being made by candidates running for election in 2010, I became curious about where we should encourage more folks to consider running.  

Often, in the places where a fresh face is needed the most, a candidate steps into the race very late in the game because no one else had stepped up.  Activists in the area sometimes fail to ask good candidates to run and end up holding their nose and voting for the weak (electorally or ideologically) candidate who finally stepped up to the plate and became the de facto nominee.

So, perhaps this time around, with just over 12 months until next years election, we can avoid this problem by identifying seats where progressives can, should, or must win. 

By the way, I'm not sure I can really contribute that much to the discussion, besides asking the question, as I've recently relocated to an area I don't know particularly well.  But I encourage you to talk about your communities below and others about which you're familiar.

A few days after the primary, a lot of us are still licking our wounds in defeat, even as we move to support another candidate or focus on other races.  It can be devastating to lose a campaign and make one very pessimistic when they commit themselves to a candidate, fully believing that they will win, and finding that the voters didn't make the same choice. 

I wanted to write this diary to ask that we try to hold on to our optimism and to give a special thank you to those of you who worked to elect candidates because you truly believe in a better future.  I was most inspired to write this thank you note by my experiences with the staff of Ed Fallon's primary campaign.

Just a quick note to let folks in NE Iowa know that there will be a series of Democratic Candidate Forums coming up.  If you're a resident of Iowa's 16th State House District or 4th Congressional District, it's a great opportunity to meet the candidates and ask questions.

We have a very full roster of good Democratic candidates for this year's Primary but that's a good thing, right?