Common senseovernonsense
I investigate the stories everyone else skims. Public records, official data and the receipts to back it up.
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Gay Republican looking for a home? That's us.Everyone assumes gay means Democrat. Log Cabin Republicans has been proving that wrong since the 1970s, and the Dallas chapter is now the third largest in the country. We show up, meet the candidates and have a seat at the table. I'm proud to serve as president of the Dallas chapter.
Join Log Cabin Dallas★ Texas, this one's on us ★
Abbott Impact
Help keep Texas red, right from your phone.
Early voting in Texas starts Monday, October 19. Abbott Impact is the free volunteer app from the Texans for Greg Abbott campaign. It matches your contacts to the Texas voter file, so you can see which of your friends and family have already voted and remind the ones who haven't with one tap. Elections are won by whoever shows up, and nobody gets your friends to show up better than you.
How it works, start to finish →Match your contacts to the Texas voter file. During early voting, only the people who haven't voted yet show up, so you never nag someone who already went.
Text targeted Texas voters one on one through a private campaign number. Your personal number is never shown.
See the targeted houses near you, with a script and a quick survey for every door you knock.
Call voters through a private number, with one-click voicemails when nobody picks up.
- Sign up freeYou need a Texas address. No training required.
- Get the appiPhone or Android. Log in with the same account.
- Start with your peopleEvery action earns points you can trade for campaign swag and experiences.
Abbott Impact is run and paid for by Texans for Greg Abbott. It's a campaign app, not a government website. Sign-up links go to abbottimpact.org.
★ The newsletter ★
Out & Right
Out of the closet. Right of center.
The stories everyone else skims, with the public records, official data and vote counts to back them up. Straight to your inbox, free. No spin, no made-up facts.
- The daily take, explained like an adult
- Early vote and polling numbers as they move
- Every claim sourced
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Updated every morning
2026 early vote tracker
Who has already voted in the midterm, by the party they're registered with, state by state. Pulled from official state files every morning and checked against the University of Florida Election Lab.
Party-registration states, latest pull
- Ballots with a party on record1,838,270
- All early ballots, every reporting state3,765,784
- Democratic marginD +25.7
- Change since the previous pull0.1 pts toward Republicans
This counts who returned a ballot, by registration. It doesn't tell you how anyone voted. Early vote leans Democratic every cycle because mail voting does; the tracker compares it to the 2022 finish line.
Why I built it
Every election night somebody screams fraud and somebody else screams landslide, and neither one checked the numbers. These are the state's own counts, updated daily, so you can watch the trend instead of the spin.
What to watch
Whether the Democratic edge in early ballots is bigger or smaller than it was at the end of 2022. In-person early voting is where Republicans close the gap, and more states open it every day through November 3.
Where the numbers come from
State election offices via the Election Data Guy tracker, cross-checked with Dr. Michael McDonald's UF Election Lab. The 2022 baseline is from the US Elections Project.
Where I get my numbers
Follow Election Data Guy on X
I've followed him since 2024, and he's where I get my early vote insights. He tracks returned ballots in every state that reports them and models the states that don't register by party. Independent, no spin, just the numbers. If you like this tracker, follow the source.
Follow @E_DataGuyThe Daily Take All posts →
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★ Proof we exist ★
Gay Republicans exist.We're not scared. We're not in the closet.
In 2022 the Respect for Marriage Act needed 60 votes to get through the Senate. It passed 61 to 36, and 12 of those yes votes were Republicans. Without Republicans it doesn't become law. And it's gays like me who helped make that happen: showing up, making the case and having a seat at the table.
Senate vote, November 29, 2022. CBS News
How I look at things
- Realityoverideology
- Dataovernarratives
- Responsibilityovervictimhood
- Perspectiveoveroutrage
No fluff and no fabricated facts. If I can't show you the receipt, it doesn't go on camera. I call out the left and the right, and when I get something wrong I correct it out loud.
What I cover
The research you don't have time to do, explained like an adult. Be serious.
The digital detective
Timelines that don't add up, websites that quietly change, statements that get scrubbed. I screenshot first and ask questions later.
Kitchen-table politics
What a foreign policy move or a new bill actually does to your gas price, your grocery bill and your neighborhood.
Headlines versus reality
I read the source document behind the story and show you where the coverage and the facts part ways.
A gay conservative's take
Life for gay Americans compared to the rest of the world, and why victim framing doesn't fit most of us.