Three Wins Today: Oct 8, 2025
Are you following them all?
Let’s talk social media.
You’ve heard about the Hatch Act, right? It states that there must be a separation between politics and the work of the government. In the world of the internet this means that federal employees, elected officials included cannot talk about anything campaign-related on their government accounts.
And it’s not just their campaign, its anything campaign-related in general. For instance, you won’t see California Reps talking about Prop 50 (or State Measure 50, depending on your county) on their government accounts.
For some members, especially the ones in safe seats, that might mean they don’t talk about it at all. For others, they have a campaign account.
And there are more rules. You can’t talk about campaigns under the Capitol Dome. Most members, if they have a digital director, has one. That one person has to run both the government and campaign accounts, and they can’t do so in the same place. So they do a video outside of a hearing room one second, and then have to race out of the capitol to post that interview about their Republican opponent the next.
It’s also sometimes why you aren’t seeing the fight you want to from certain members. It’s not that they’re not fighting, it’s just that the way they’re fighting isn’t legislative, so it’s on the other account, which they can’t even reference on their government account. So they can’t make a post saying you should follow them there.
Rep Mark Takano (CA-39), is the first person that comes to mind when I think of this situation. He has virtually no followers on his campaign account on any platform, but that’s where he plays teacher, his former job. And he’s VERY good at it.
There are also members with two accounts that only use one. If they only use their campaign account, that means you’re not gonna see posts of them legislating, if it’s only their government account you’re never going to see them get more worked up than something they would say in a hearing.
So when you follow our Dems, make sure you’re following both their accounts, if they have them. Their government account will likely be their government headshot. Their campaign account probably won’t use “rep” or “senator” in the username.
Here are some examples. Everyone loves Melanie Stansbury, but most people don’t follow her campaign account, which is Melanieinthe505. Now, if you are reading this on Threads, you’re seeing a link, on BlueSky you’re not, cause she doesn’t have a BlueSky campaign account. Now she doesn’t use her campaign account much, but, she did when she went to protest in front of the Supreme Court after the Planned Parenthood decision in June.
Here are some more:
has senadamschiff and adamschiffca
Rep Ted Lieu (CA-36) has reptedlieu and ted.lieu
Rep (he also has two accounts here
(CA-49) has repmikelevin and mikelevinRep Lauren Underwood (IL-14) has repunderwood and laurenunderwood
You get the idea. When you follow elected officials, make sure you’re looking for two accounts, not just one. It may just increase who you think is fighting back.
Comment below with your favorite campaign accounts that don’t get a whole lot of attention!
On that note, he’s some wins!
California
Thu, Oct 2 - McClatchy is a California publishing company that owns the Sacramento Bee, the Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune. And their editorial board wrote an op-ed endorsing Prop 50 (or State Measure 50, depending on your county)
It begins:
We normally would not endorse an initiative that seeks to replace a non-partisan, widely praised method of drawing congressional districts with a partisan one designed to help one political party over another.
Nor would we endorse the undemocratic scourge of gerrymandering, the manipulation of electoral systems synonymous with 19th-century party bosses, voter disenfranchisement and outright cheating.
But our combined McClatchy Editorial boards representing publications in Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno and San Luis Obispo do endorse Proposition 50, the constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot that asks voters to approve new congressional district maps drawn by the Legislature.
Why we are endorsing Prop. 50 can be summarized in three words: President Donald Trump.
It’s well worth a read.
They say that before they made this endorsement, Governor, Gavin Newsom met with their editorial board telling them what is truly at stake, which suggests this endorsement holds a lot of weight. I doubt he’d doing this with every California publishing company.
I certainly hope this has an impact, and remember, if you vote in California, you should have received your ballot already, and if not, you should get it in the next few days. Just vote, as soon as you get it. Don’t mail it, either hand it in at a polling location or put it in a drop box.
Let’s win this thing!
Oklahoma
Mon, Oct 6 - Lindel Fields is the new State Superintendent. He was appointed after Ryan Walters resigned. And Governor, Kevin Stitt, must have realized what a mess Walters made of things, because Superintendent Fields is everything Walters was not.
He sent home his first letter to parents, and it gives me so much hope:
As we strengthen our commitment to high standards, we must also hold fast to kindness. Our schools work best when respect and dignity guide every interaction. Parents and educators are partners in a student’s journey, and both deserve to be heard, valued, and treated with courtesy as we work together to find the best solutions for each unique child.
KINDNESS! DIGNITY! RESPECT!
These are words coming from the Oklahoma State Superintendent! I feel like I’m in a dream.
And he doesn’t call out Walters by name, cause that’s clearly not his style, but he doesn’t shy away from explaining the work to be done:
The Oklahoma State Department of Education exists to serve students, families, and educators alike. My team and I are committed to restoring trust, improving communication, and ensuring that our schools operate efficiently and transparently. You can expect accountability from us-and we will, in turn, encourage accountability throughout our system.
This follows his first press conference, where he literally started crying cause he was giving it in his daughter’s school:
Standing here at Eisenhower, where my daughter’s in 5th grade, this work is deeply personal, as a father, I share the same hopes and worries as every parent, we all want our kids to be safe, to be known and to be prepared for the future. That’s why steadying the ship matters so much right now.
He is a Republican, I mean, of course he is, but honestly, there is no point in his first couple weeks that I’d look at anything he said, not knowing he said it, and think “yes, that man is obviously a Republican.”
Maybe in the future he will say or do something harmful, but right now he’s working to restore trust in the office, which, given how thoroughly Walters destroyed it, is not going to be easy, but it really seems like he’s the man to do it.
Congratulations, Oklahoma, you really fucking deserve this!
Washington State
Mon, Sept 29 - Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order creating an Immigration Sub-cabinet. It will be made up of members from all cabinets as well as other entities that have a vested interest like University boards, and it will be led by the Office of Equity.
Their focus will be on figuring out the best programs to use for protecting their immigrant communities, and they will be the point group for any immigration related emergencies and events.
Governor Ferguson said:
Washington is a welcoming community that values immigrants’ and refugees’ contributions to our economy and our cultural fabric. While the federal government engages in cruel attacks on immigrant communities, we are taking action to protect the rights and interests of all Washingtonians. This executive order ensures every agency across our state is working together to defend immigrant rights.
I love this a lot and hope other states follow suit.
So those are today’s wins, apologies for not having any yesterday (these were yesterday’s tbh) I was just feeling quite sick and decided to take the day off. I spent the entire day watching the newest season of Doctor Who, which I thought was meh. One of several villains was basically CK, his initials were even CC, and he had his own Turning Point. Which is strange, considering this is a British show, and then the parts that weren’t directly ripped from the American headlines were just confusing with several characters we’ve never met but were supposed to know. Anyway, if anyone watched this season and wants to chat about it, my DMs are open.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
Really terrific winds today. And I hope that the new super continues in that vein for all the Oklahoman children.
I hope you're feeling better, Ariella! Thank you so much for the explanation of legislators' social media accounts. I didn't know about that. Very useful!