Gavin Bena πŸ—³'s Avatar

Gavin Bena πŸ—³

@gavinbena.bsky.social

your friendly local elections nerd & missouri young democrats representative for MO-02 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gavinbena

1,143 Followers  |  278 Following  |  1,765 Posts  |  Joined: 18.07.2023
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Posts by Gavin Bena πŸ—³ (@gavinbena.bsky.social)

Missouri’s elections sure aren’t perfect.

But here, if a candidate withdraws while candidate filing is still open, the filing deadline for the election they withdrew from gets pushed back.

It’s not possible to do what Chuy Garcia or Steve Daines did here. Just saying!

05.03.2026 03:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Stunning just how similar the 2020 and 2026 Democratic primaries for US Senate in Texas ended up being:

We knew they would be relatively close, similar dynamics, but this is impressive.

05.03.2026 00:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It’s time to return that same level of shared public trust to our presidential primaries.

04.03.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Local election boards and county clerks have reliable standards for bipartisan accountability and public accessibility. That’s why millions of Missourians confidently place their faith in them to run free, fair, secure, and transparent elections every cycle.

04.03.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Proud to have won the backing of the STL County Democratic Central Committee on my resolution expressing deep concerns with the current system, and encouraging legislators-of every political background and of every corner of our state-to advance legislation restoring state presidential primaries.

04.03.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Missouri’s party-governed presidential primaries shut the door on far too many working families, veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, and rural residents. Our elections should be free and fair for all, not warped by wealth or political privilege.

04.03.2026 22:07 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

yes, but counterpoint: it would be funny

04.03.2026 08:45 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Talarico: 1,118k
Crockett: 960k
Cornyn: 868k
Paxton: 847k
Hunt: 277k

If Texas used California's blanket primary system, they'd be headed into a Talarico vs Crockett general election with Republicans locked out.

04.03.2026 08:40 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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truly ridiculous, ranked choice instant runoff would be so much easier.

04.03.2026 07:17 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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TX-18 Dem primary might go to a runoff

the district has faced 8-10 elections on 5-6 dates in just 2 years. we’re now tacking on another.

04.03.2026 07:17 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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you are filled with an unnerving sense of regrets to come.

may the future be merciful and bless us with a wide, corruption-proof majority.

04.03.2026 07:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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the good people of Missouri join the citizens of Texas in this night of victory and much celebration

04.03.2026 07:00 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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can someone please interview the voters of Loving County

they have to be doing it intentionally at this point right

04.03.2026 06:53 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Shropshire Disqualified as Mayoral Candidate - Ferguson Observer Eric Fey, the Director of Elections for the Saint Louis County Election Board confirmed today that the Election Board has received notice from the Missouri Department of Revenue that Adrian […]

Ferguson, Missouri might soon have a Libertarian as its next Mayor.

Councilman Nick Kasoff only lost the last mayoral election by 23 votes, and looked competitive again this year.

But now, his only opponent has been disqualified for tax delinquency:

yourferguson.org/shropshire-d...

03.03.2026 22:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œeveryone is 12” theory validated again

01.03.2026 23:49 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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the 2028 Democratic primary for Governor of Missouri mapped by state house legislative district

01.03.2026 21:15 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

it’s so ridiculous that the 2024 Republican message was in large part based on affordability

and then their administration has made it their number one priority to illegally make groceries more expensive, defying Congress, breaking the law, because high taxes on food is somehow patriotic

01.03.2026 21:13 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
SOS, Missouri - Elections: Offices Filed in Candidate Filing

The map above shows how many candidates of each party have officially filed to run for each district-to find the full list of candidates, search here: s1.sos.mo.gov/candidateson...

27.02.2026 18:20 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Almost every Missouri Senate seat is contested-either in the general election, or in the primary.
30 Republicans and 16 Democrats have filed so far to run in just 17 districts, resulting in at least 13 and 8 contested general elections.

27.02.2026 18:20 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

(163 is the blue-shaded one in the southwest corner, but it’s a 75.1% Trump, 23.6% Harris district)

25.02.2026 23:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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3 more filings for state house today, 2 incumbents and a newcomer: Brenna Barksdale

Brenna filed in 163, where Cathy Jo Loy (R) hasn't filed because she's away in Washington DC at a CPAC conference.

She'll definitely file, but that makes 163 the only R-held seat where only a D has filed.

25.02.2026 23:36 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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As of the 5:00 closing of today’s candidate filing period, 162 Republicans and 115 Democrats have filed to run for Missouri’s state House.

Here’s the map!

24.02.2026 23:38 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

candidate filing is now open here in Missouri!

refresh s1.sos.mo.gov/candidateson... to see who’s picking slips of paper out of the box in the MOSOS office

I’ll be posting notes & updates throughout the day

24.02.2026 14:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Support your local Democrats! Help us build the infrastructure we need to win.

You must be a dues-paying member to cast votes on club business, which is $25 paid via check or cash at the meeting or through our brand new fancy ActBlue page:
secure.actblue.com/donate/jtdc

23.02.2026 21:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Tonight! Join my local Democrats at Webster Groves Public Library to hear from Senator Brian Williams, STLDems Director Mike Gallagher, and participate in elections, bylaw amendments, and discussions about how to take action in our community.

23.02.2026 21:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Out of Missouri's last four decennial district maps, plus the 2025 Republican gerrymander, only these areas have consistently remained in the same congressional seats.

The Republicans' attempted MO-03 has no overlap whatsoever with the MO-03 used as recently as 2010.

23.02.2026 21:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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nothing like walking your husky after midnight while it’s 20Β°F (-7Β°C) out

23.02.2026 06:27 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

and, unfortunately, having the power and security to act on that information

21.02.2026 08:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

everyone who goes into professional political organizing seems to just go a bit mental

but it’s on a spectrum from β€œsilly little gremlin” to β€œactive threat to the safety of others”

good relationship management-cold as that may sound-just takes knowing who is what type of insane

21.02.2026 08:00 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0