Too Close To Call Podcast

Adrian Fontes , the Democratic nominee for secretary of state in Arizona, joins the pod to talk about a downballot contest that is attracting more attention than usual given the prospect of election denialism plaguing outcomes in 2022 and 2024. Fontes is in a tight contest with Republican Mark Finchem , a full MAGA warrior who has already stated he won’t be offering a concession speech. Fontes tal...

Phil Cox is a senior adviser to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels and Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas, as well as an adviser to the Republican Governors Association, a committee he used to run. In this #pod he chats about > * why Gretchen Whitmer looks primed for re-election in Michigan * the two tightest gubernatorial contests in the country * the narra...

Colm O’Comartun is the founder of 50 State, a D.C. consulting firm that works with governors of both parties from across the country. He previously directed the Democratic Governors Association from 2010 to 2014. In this #pod focused on governors races, Colm and I cover … * what it’s like to lead a party committee in the final month before an election and how to say no to both candidates on the wa...

Democratic strategist Cyrus Garrett, who ran point for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign in Georgia, has a wealth of knowledge on the purple Peach State and a b******t-free approach that offers a clear-eyed sense of the state of play in both the governor and U.S. Senate races a month out. I hope you’ll listen to every minute of this one — it’s worth it if you want to understand Georgia from a...

Beto O’Rourke assembled an A+ debate performance against Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday evening, turning Texas’ high-voltage issues of immigration, gun rights and energy reliability into a referendum on the incumbent during the hour affair. At the same time, O’Rourke didn’t score a knockout or game-changing moment that could harm Abbott’s high single-digit lead in the race for Texas governor. What O’R...

Don Bolduc, the newly minted Republican U.S. Senate candidate in New Hampshire, begins in a hole. READ: Where does New Hampshire fall in my monthly Senate rankings? He’s hustling to cobble together Republicans after a razor-thin primary victory, needs to bank cash fast and has to draw Sen. Maggie Hassan into a debate on economic issues rather than being mired in abortion. Last week, veteran GOP fi...

A quick check-in to alert you that #TooCloseToCall rants now appear on Spotify & Apple Podcasts me some stars won’t you? Pro tip: It’s easier to search my name, David Catanese, than #TooCloseToCall to located me in these pod engines. And Substack video doesn’t automatically transfer to these platforms, so figuring that out is a work in progress as I explain in the #Rant. Secondly, do you prefer au...

Can we go off the record for a moment? If you’re a political operative or a reporter, this phrase will resonate with you deeply. If you’re a normal person who just happens to follow politics, this may be illuminating. In this #Rant , I pull down the curtain that shield the conversations that take place between reporters and their sources every day across the country. I’m eager to hear your feedbac...

#PRIDE has become the church preaching to the choir, a hyper-sexualized parade of safe expression, choreographed to stamp out decades of oppression. The events are concentrated in highly urban areas that are already on board. If the #LGBTQ+ movement is truly interested in progress, there’s a more valuable way to strip down in the streets with shots on weekends in June, while lending a hand to the...

Jamie Bilica Carroll, who I met in 1998 during an internship at CNN in Washington during college, visits # The Rant for a special edition to debate the choice of lifelong marriage versus the more radical option of long-term singlehood. At the start of #TooCloseToCall, I said I’d sometimes dip into personal quandaries outside of the political realm. Since Jamie is in town for a quick visit, I’m tak...

This is a free post. But Too Close To Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive additional exclusive content, consider a paid subscription. Jim Rubens is a Republican in New Hampshire who has run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate nomination twice; in 2014 against Scott Brown and in 2016 in a challenge to incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte. After posting my piece on The Power of a Simple Respons...

A halftime report on the #2022 primary season, as well as a gentle plug to become a paid subscriber to #TooCloseToCall, where you’ll get spicier #Rants, exclusive Senate race rankings and other special features on how the sausage of political journalism gets made in Washington. Join the movement. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...

A couple genuine questions to my listeners as you chew on this #Rant: * How long after a mass murder is it appropriate to debate policy changes that attempt to lessen the chance it happens again? * If ambushing a press conference is pure “politicization” and “disgusting politics,” how would you describe attending a campaign fundraiser for financial contributions in the hours after a massacre in th...

Former NFL star, Georgia Bulldog and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker officially clinched the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in the Peach State Tuesday night, setting up a fierce fight with first-term Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock this fall. Walker has united both Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump around his candidacy, no small feat in a cycle caught between a post-Trump era and a MAGA re...

In this week’s #Rant, a look at the possible outcomes in Pennsylvania , where the Republican Senate race is in slow-rolling overtime. * Who do the remaining 20,000 uncounted ballots favor: Oz or McCormick? * Can Trump stomach another absentee ballot defeat and support McCormick? * What does Kathy Barnette do? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...

I debated confessing my sin, but I also promised you I’d try to be transparent as possible in this #Substack. I wrote a piece for The Atlantic about the Ohio Senate race and in the process I violated an agreement with the source. You’d never know by reading it but it was a significant breach to the source. This is my apology, and explanation — and a window inside into how stories are made. Let me...

A special #Rant from the desert, where I review the first day of the second weekend of Coachella , the world’s most renowned music festival. In this Coachella #Rant > * Why the desert weather is tricky for festival-goers * The peculiar alcoholic beverage policy on the grounds * Who won the first day Listen, enjoy and #share > This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subsc...

Who would be the optimal Republican nominee in #OHSEN? Or, who would be the bigger wild card — and potentially slip on the banana peel — in the general? Related: We’re inside the #RedZone in Ohio, which holds its primary on May 3. Related: Sherrod Brown thinks things will get better. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vis...

The post that was supposed to be here is no longer here. An explanation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit davidcatanese.substack.com/subscribe

I’m late, but I’m tan. This week, The Rant dives into Florida’s pond to gab about why festivals are about much more than just the music and how different our national political rostrum would be if Andrew Gillum had beaten Ron DeSantis in 2018. Links to my coverage of the #Ultra2022 music festival, if you’d like to culture yourself. Ultra PREVIEW. Ultra REVIEW . VIDEO DIARY This is a public episode...

This is Too Close To Call, my musings on politics and more. Sign-ups make me happy. I’m ranting again — a day earlier this week to recap what happened in Texas, which kicked off 2022 primary voting. This #Rant will cover 3 races: The Henry Cuellar - Jessica Cisneros Democratic primary congressional runoff (767 votes!), the Ken Paxton-George P. Bush Republican primary runoff for attorney general an...

I’m trying a ‘lil experiment this week — a Rant , via the audio function here at our Substack HQ. I wrestled with how to go about this. One topic for 10 minutes? 3 topics over 30? Is 10 minutes too short, 30 too long? I still don’t know, but now you’re here to tell me. I ended up settling on a single topic: A court case in Texas over a provision of a new voting law there that opens up public offic...