The Florida, Illinois, and Arizona Democratic primaries were held Tuesday, and Joe Biden swept to victory in all three. Read the rest

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) won the California Democratic Primary, multiple news organizations are now projecting based on incoming results. Yes, it really did take this long to count all those California primary votes. Read the rest

For 60 years, the itty-bitty town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire has cast some of the very first ballots of the presidential primary election at The Balsams resort. The town's five registered voters cast their ballots at midnight and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the surprise winner with 3 write-in ballots; 2 from Democrats and 1 from a Republican. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigeig each received 1 vote.

Two other teeny towns, Hart's Location and Millsfield, also voted at midnight. In Hart's Location, Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in first with 6 votes, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 4, Andrew Yang with 3, Sanders with 2, and former VP Joe Biden, Tom Steyer, and Tulsi Gabbard with 1 each. Impeached President Donald Trump received 15 votes on the Republican side, and former MA governor Bill Weld and Concord resident Mary Maxwell each received 1.

Klobuchar won again in Millsfield, capturing 2 votes and Buttigieg, Biden, and Sanders each receiving 1 vote. Trump also won Millsfield with 15 votes.

That put Amy Klobuchar in first place in New Hampshire, followed by a tie for second place between Warren and Sanders. The rest of the state will vote today and most polls will close at 7:00 PM.

If you're looking to kill some time before results start coming in, I highly recommend the podcast "Stranglehold" from New Hampshire Public Radio. It's a deep dive into how New Hampshire became the first state in the nation to vote and if it deserves to keep that distinction. Read the rest

politics is a journy pic.twitter.com/Tt6zkfAOvG

— L Ron Mexico (@LRonMexico) February 3, 2020

I know this is supposed to be a joke, but it accurately captures the political journeys of people I know in real life.

Image: University of Illinois Library (CC 2.0) Read the rest

“They identify an issue that they know that the American people feel passionately about on both sides and then they take both sides and spin them up so they pit us against each other. And then they combine that with an effort to weaken our confidence in our elections and our democratic institutions which has been a pernicious and asymmetric way of engaging in affect information warfare.”

— FBI Director Chris Wray, Feb. 5, 2020

On Wednesday, FBI Director Chris Wray said Russia is targeting Americans with an ongoing “information warfare” campaign that is likely to intensify as the nation heads into the 2020 presidential election. Read the rest

Take this Washington Post multiple-choice questionnaire to see which Democrat candidate shares your opinions the most. Read the rest

Billionaire and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to designate himself as a Democratic candidate in the 2020 Presidential election, according to The New York Times. Bloomberg, a 77-year-old centrist, "would present a grave and instantaneous threat to former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has been struggling to raise money and assemble a ideologically moderate coalition," says the Times.

Image: by Bloomberg Philanthropies - https://www.flickr.com/photos/bloombergphilanthropies/29828795984/, CC0, Link Read the rest

Trump is a "malevolent George Costanza," a person who's gotten every job "simply by being [his] obnoxious self, with no filter." That's Philippe Reines' assessment. He should know. As Hillary Clinton's debate sparring partner, he watched every one of the 15 Republican primary debates and forums Trump was in, three times. As a result, he says, "I might know his debating style—if you want to call it that—better than anyone on the planet (aside from Hillary Clinton, of course)."

In this Politico article, he presents the qualities that make Trump "such a tough opponent in a debate, despite the fact that he is possibly the worst debater in presidential history," and some suggestions about how the Democratic nominee could deal with Trump's non-stop torrent of lies during a debate:

[O]ur nominee should know that Trump will lie throughout their debate, but can’t count on the moderator to call them all out and can’t expect the audience to know on their own. So our nominee needs to be able to say, “You’re lying.” Easier said than done. Especially if Trump lies every time he opens his mouth.

One possible tactic is to simply, and calmly, count out loud. First time he lies, the nominee should say, “That was the first of many lies to come because that’s what he does best.” After that, when Trump lies again, the nominee should interject with a simple “Lie number two,” or, “That was a few, so we’re up to six.” The moderator might scold the candidate for interrupting, but he or she should respond, “If you were calling out his lies, I wouldn’t have to.