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Gavin Bena 🗳

@gavinbena.bsky.social

1.1K followers 270 following 1.6K posts

your friendly local elections nerd & missouri young democrats representative for MO-02 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gavinbena

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · Sep 2

Have my maps, graphics, and data helped you understand our political world? Please consider supporting my work at patreon.com/GavinBena by becoming a member!

Your help allows me to keep my work public rather than hiding democracy behind a paywall, and gives our local candidates-

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 2d

it was a dumb idea but I hope people can understand why I abortedly ran for Secretary of State before Barbara Phifer jumped in lol

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 2d

a misdemeanor election offense for collecting signatures before the deadline? yeah best of luck in court.

honestly though I’d be willing to take a couple months in prison and lose my voting rights if it meant guaranteeing Missouri could have fair maps.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 2d

thank you

had to scroll through your media tab to find some Gilly content :p

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 2d

fine but I’ll have my eye on you

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 2d

for some reason I’m naturally inclined to distrust candidates with Serif fonts in their logos. like who gave you the nerve to use Times New Roman

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 3d

problem is when we have tiny patches of fertile land and before you can even get seeds planted the party takes you out back to put you down execution style

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 3d

I’m glad there’s more to life than politics because if there weren’t I would’ve absolutely killed myself

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 4d

Harvey Milk’s successor on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors was Harry Britt, who later would be Nancy Pelosi’s primary rival in her first bid for Congress - she only won by 3.64%

imagine the butterflies, Representative Milk instead of Representative Pelosi

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 4d

fair Illinois

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 5d

should say grandparents rather than grandfather but idk I have so many tabs open my brain is numb

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 5d

my great great great grandfather had thirteen but in his defense five of them died

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 5d

very very slowly working on my family tree

my great great grandfather had nine kids which, y’know, good for him, but jeez

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 5d

my great-great-great-grandmother’s last name was “Hrabanek” - and that’s not even the name that got anglicized into “Bena” which is crazy

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 6d

August 2024 primary election results within my township - w/ additional commentary free on my Patreon

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 7d

family lore is crazy because my grandma just casually dropped on me today that she taught Litton’s kids in Chillicothe while she was still a nun in the convent

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 22d

🚨 New Patreon Project! 🚨

Missouri Democrats had dominated state politics for a generation after the New Deal. But when a fresh-faced Representative died tragically while running for U.S. Senate, a complacent party establishment and elitist political machines failed to meet the moment.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 9d

locals know the insider lore best

no further comment

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 9d

Read into the crosstabs here: www.dataforprogress.org/datasets/oct...

Oct. 3-6 Polling on Government Shutdown (October 2025)

www.dataforprogress.org

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 9d

By wide margins, likely voters-including most independents-agree that Trump and Republicans in Congress are responsible for the government shutdown - & that Democrats are in the right not to give Republicans a blank check and instead withhold support until they reverse the proposed healthcare cuts.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 9d

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 9d

when whatever God there may be reads the story of our universe, I will be hiding from them between the pages of chapter 115 of the Missouri state statutes

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 11d

well I knew that already lol - though I think Sen. Williams would’ve retired to run for County Exec regardless

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 11d

lack of a backbone isn’t the issue

it’s empty rhetoric, and lack of guts

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