any new Democrats elected from these counter-gerrymanders must be expected to self-sacrifice by supporting national fair maps which would certainly eliminate their own seats, at a minimum.

an increasingly likely victory for Yes
another sad day for democracy

Sure, I would've voted yes too, but it shouldn't put a smile on anyone's face. This is a very bleak moment, and a reminder of just how much work still needs to be done. We have a long, difficult struggle ahead.

if an external phone charger is the only thing stopping county politics from imploding there is probably something wrong with county politics

can’t quite capture it but moss at golden hour is so pretty

I’m in Union, Missouri today for the Franklin County Democrats’ town hall event. In 2024, Trump won 67% of the vote here.

You’d never be able to tell the precinct we were in also voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

thoroughly amused that they keep using this picture of Doug looking disappointed every time Missouri gets even further fucked over

2026 Kirkwood School Board Election | Gavin Bena Get more from Gavin Bena on Patreon

Harding and Losse placed third and fourth in most precincts, while Hill and Craft (divided only by 55 votes) placed either first or second.

Consider supporting my work on Patreon, which helps me make more maps like these:
www.patreon.com/posts/2026-k...

Support for the trio largely correlated with support for Democratic candidates, while Matte Losse performed better in the typically more Republican areas of the district: northern Des Peres, southern Glendale, and especially the tiny-but exorbitantly wealthy-city of Huntleigh.

A sweeping victory for the liberal-aligned coalition, Kirkwood School District voters elected Susan Hill, Tanya Craft, and James Harding.

update update: owl is okay! transformer blew. Ameren is already out here actively trying to fix it within 45 minutes of reporting, and as I’ve often said they are my favorite company which I love and support always!

update: I am now standing in the middle of the street talking to our neighbors because power for our entire block and just our block went out

I am a bit concerned for my owl friend

there is currently an owl on my roof :)

my support for the admission of additional states is relentless

god i fucking love space

Beautiful day to get out and vote!
I’ve zipped around to 19 polling locations so far today and met with voters, volunteers, candidates, and friends-here’s a sampling of the signs around our area:

Same population, same Democratic vote total, absurdly divergent turnout.

Purple:
623k census population
190k votes for Crystal Quade
52k votes for Mike Kehoe

Orange:
623k census population
190k votes for Crystal Quade
170k votes for Mike Kehoe

we should revert St. Louis City's ward map back to the 1940s version for an election or two just to see what happens

everyone in Gen Z who made a Google account when they were <13 is weeping tears of joy right now

Just so you understand, this is as if you prepared for argument in front of a panel that included Cookie Monster, and Cookie Monster asked you a question about cookies, and you had not thought about cookies in advance.

shoutout to the anti-AIPAC protesters outside our MDP/Cory Booker event today

love making new friends at Democratic events and then also making friends with the people protesting those same events. this whole politics thing is so fun lol

got so sunburned at No Kings you can see the outline of my glasses on my face

it hurts

Also tried to keep the numeration the same for aesthetics, districts 11 and 16 are the only two which completely change and don’t overlap with their previous versions whatsoever

Cook County's commission districts have been blatantly ridiculous for decades. But instead of whining and deflecting like Republicans, here's how I'd draw them:

Same number of majority-minority districts, much more compact, competitive, and proportional.

Current on left, my own on right.

I had a thought: imagine if Illinois, along with every other state, had a fair congressional district map

A more compact IL05 likely runs up to the Evanston border, shifting Kat Abughazaleh (and her best territory) into the same district as Representative Mike Quigley.

1. you are awesome thank you
2. wow that is a lot more even than I thought it would be

The 2026 IL Senate Democratic Primary in Chicago — in Limiting Raja Krishnamoorthi to only the most ethnic-white parts of Chicago Proper, Lt. Gov Julianna Stratton was able to get a 20+ victory over the Suburban Congressman in a city that powered her to a statewide win.

Would Kat Abughazaleh have won if Bushra Amiwala had dropped out? Well, if at least >2/3rds of her voters went to Kat (and none to Biss) in a plurality system, sure.

But if you continue following that logic with ranked choice voting? Daniel Biss would easily still come out on top.

Biss would win here anyway but being elected with <30% is still ridiculous

if Pritzker backs ranked choice or approval voting I will be his strongest soldier in 2028