The Hill Shows Its True Colors— And They’re Not Very Bright

Jordan Wood is not the Schumer candidate; he's the Mainer candidate

-by Protect Democracy

A few days ago The Hill featured an article (Senate rankings: The 5 seats most likely to flip) about US Senate races expected to be competitive in 2026. The Hill’s bias towards corporate Democrats, and against progressive populists, is thinly veiled at best.  

For example, in its description of the New Hampshire race, where incumbent Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-Donors) has announced her intention to retire, says that Democrats are breathing easy because Congressman Chris Pappas has indicated his intent to run for the senate seat.  Pappas is a member of the centrist/corporate-oriented New Democrats Caucus, and received the award for being the most bipartisan Democrat in the House of Representatives in 2023. He is moderately friendly to the klepto-currency lobby and has voted for some of their priorities.

Progressive Punch rates him the “186th best Democrat” based on voting record in Congress. He may have some room for improvement. Maybe some Democrats are breathing easier. Personally, I fear that Pappas would be as much of a roadblock to progress on substantive issues of economic justice, labor protections, fair wages, and fair tax policy as the current incumbent is.  

The most reprehensible part of the article, however, is the section on the Maine race, in which the article states that no Democrat has come forward to run for the seat against incumbent.

The latest blow came as Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced he will run for his toss-up House seat once again rather than mount a statewide bid. 

The latest blow to whom?  Until recently, Golden was the co-chair of the “Might as well be Republicans” Blue Dog Coalition, a rogues gallery of corporate shills and not-so-socially-progressive Democrats who euphemistically call their disdain for anything that addresses structural poverty and inequality, “Fiscal Responsibility.”  He ranks a disgusting 23 places below Chris Pappas on the Progressive Punch scoring; coming in just ahead of Henry Cuellar and Vladimir Putin.  

The article goes on to say:

That’s leaving Democrats to pin their hopes on Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) to throw her hat in the ring— but Mills hasn’t sounded overly enthusiastic about a potential bid.

“I’m not planning to do anything right now, I’m just— I’m not planning to run for anything,” Mills told a local outlet in late April. “Things change week to week, month to month, but I’m not … at this moment, I’m not planning to run for another office.”

The Hill article studiously ignores the only Democrat who has formally launched a campaign for seat, progressive champion  Jordan Wood.  Jordan served as Chief of Staff for former Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA), who rightfully earned  a reputation as one of the most committed fighters for working people, and one who consistently stood up to corporate power. There are no better credentials for a candidate than having served with Katie Porter.  

Katie Porter and her famous whiteboard

Jordan Wood’s qualifications for the job go beyond his time working for Katie Porter. Jordan is an anti-corruption crusader, who has committed to working to get corporate and special interest money out of Washington. He has also served as a vice president of End Citizens United; a national nonprofit committed to overturning the disastrous Citizens United decision that opened the door to limitless corporate spending and dark money corrupting our elections. He’s exactly the kind of candidate that the Democratic establishment fears, and the kind that we need. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Jordan Wood last week. In addition to be a charming person with quick wit, Jordan has a solid grasp of the issue affecting working families in Maine and around the country. He understands the link between tax policy and structural poverty, as well as the need for livable wages for all workers. He’s champion for universal healthcare access, the environment, and for small businesses.  

The Hill article mentions the unsuccessful campaign in 2020 of corporate Democrat and former Maine House of Representatives Speaker, Sara Gideon, who was the Democratic nominee running against Susan Collins in 2020. It fails to mention that the Democrats’ national senate campaign organization, DSCC (“Donors Select Compliant Candidates”) swooped in with its operatives and dollars in the 2020 primary to make sure that a progressive populist wasn’t the candidate.  

The article concludes with:

One Democratic operative made clear to The Hill that there remains donor interest in playing ball— but only if a “legit candidate” takes the plunge. 

Apparently, The Hill, its sources and the donors in question don’t see Jordan Wood as a legit candidate, or, for that matter, as a candidate at all.  They’re waiting for the next corporate-friendly, klepto-currency backed New Dem to appear. I hope they’re still waiting when Jordan is sworn in to the US Senate in January of 2027.  

I’m a senior citizen, and more than a few people have told me that I’m over the hill. I think I still have a lot for offer, but actually, I am over The Hill.

---------------

Note from Howie:

First and foremost, you can contribute to Wood's grassroots campaign here. His small dollar donation fundraising is already off to a strong start, and he doesn't take money from corporate PACs or lobbyists. Refusing to take corporate money and his disdain for their lobbyists is certainly part of why Schumer and the DSCC are working frantically to sabotage his campaign, including by telling DC news outlets like The Hill and Politico that Wood is "not a serious candidate." Local political reporters in Maine have given Schumer's tactics the due they deserve and certainly treat Wood like a serious candidate. It isn't conceivable that outlets like The Hill ever would. It isn't how they operate in the incredibly all-pervasive corrupted Beltway environment.