Say thanks to Heidi

If you're like me, you don't want any more Trump cult members in Congress. And thank goodness, it appears we won't be getting one this year from the Congressional district just across the river from Portland in the 'Couve. The primary's not over yet due to the snail's pace of vote counting, but I believe that the Republican incumbent, Herrera Beutler, who daringly voted to impeach Orange Caligula, will be facing a Democrat, Perez, in November.

Now, the Democrat can't seem to win the general election over there, no matter who the challenger is. And if we hadn't gotten Herrera Beutler from the Republican ranks, we would have gotten the Trump guy, Kent. And the only reason Kent lost is that a third Republican, Heidi St. John (pictured), tried hard to outflank him on the right. St. John has 15.2 percent of the vote, Kent 20.8 percent, and Herrera Beutler 23.8 percent. If Heidi hadn't been there, Kent would have beaten Herrera Beutler. That would have set up a head-to-head between Kent and Perez. Kent would have won that, and still will if he somehow gets ahead of Herrera Beutler when the primary vote count is final.

And so, sigh of relief, the Trump forces are apparently knocked out of that seat, at least for now. But the congressional election cycle is short. They'll do it all again in two years. And if the far right don't cancel themselves out again, we could very well be looking at a Trump congressperson from that district in January of '25.