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This story is from California, but I imagine it’s being repeated in pretty much every state in the union:

Until recently, many Democratic strategists believed that incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer was a prohibitive favorite for reelection in November and that their party’s presumed candidate for governor, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, would coast to victory. Now, confidence has faded on both.

….Boxer sought to reassure supporters that she knew she had a battle ahead. “Every state is now in play, absolutely,” she told reporters in Washington. The lesson from Massachusetts, she said, is “never, ever, ever take an election for granted.”

I don’t want to pretend that there’s a silver lining for Democrats in Martha Coakley’s defeat on Tuesday. There isn’t. But if there were, this would be it. At least nobody’s going to be coasting from this point forward.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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