Welcome to this weekend’s edition of the Surge where, like the president, we are adopting a new, more somber tone.

Slate.com ^ | July 24, 2020 | Jim Newell

[Yo-Yo]

This week we look at our old pal, House races. In 2018, all anyone wanted to talk about was the House—the House this, the House that. Who’s going to win the House?, the people would ask. Now no one cares! Well, the Surge is here to fix that. We’ve got a mix of remaining primaries and a few general elections to look at where incumbents are either in danger, criminals, or—somehow—both. Let’s start in Michigan, where it’s illegal to be fun and say fun things.

[Yo-Yo]

1. Michigan’s 13th District

The Squad’s most vulnerable member. In the 2018 primary for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District—an open seat to replace longtime Rep. John Conyers—Rashida Tlaib defeated Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones by 1 percentage point. Now the two are facing off again in the Aug. 4 primary, and here’s the mathematical issue for Tlaib: This time it’s one-on-one. Last cycle, Tlaib and Jones were on the ballot with four other candidates. This time, those four other candidates are supporting Jones. As for the nonmath: Jones has been critical of Tlaib’s flamboyant and outspoken style. “There are things that I might feel, but I just don’t say in public and an example is ‘impeach the M-F’ on the very first day,” Jones told the Associated Press. “Not to say you’re going to always agree, but you have to be able to work with those people because you never know who you’re going to need in order to get things done that need to be done.”

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4. Minnesota’s 5th District

Another ugly Squad primary. Rashida Tlaib is not the only Muslim woman who’s part of a four-member clique of leftist freshman Democrats known as “the Squad” to face a competitive August primary in the Midwest. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minneapolis, is also facing a stiff challenge, in this case from lawyer Antone Melton-Meaux. Despite being a political novice, Melton-Meaux raised an absurd $3.2 million in the second quarter of this year to Omar’s $471,000, with much of it coming from large donors: About $3 million of that $3.2 million came from donations of $200 or more. Omar, who represents a sizable Jewish community in her district, has been the face of multiple national controversies for her perceived use of coded anti-Semitic language. And as we’re writing this, there’s a new round of controversy brewing about the language with which Omar’s mailers criticize Melton-Meaux’s donors, while Melton-Meaux’s campaign has released an FAQ saying that the money he’s received from the Jewish community would not influence his decisions. Basically, it’s not great.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Omg wow! Praying both she and Ilhan Omar will be gone from Congress ASAP.