iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 10h

in 2020 thousands protested in the street to demand criminal justice reform, demilitarization of the police, reallocating funds toward basic social services in 2026 we are seeing publicly livestreamed executions by firing squad at the behest of the President

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It’s 5:00. The voter registration deadline in Missouri has now passed-game on!

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

not afraid to admit this made my day. thank you webster schnucks!

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

they’re calling it the most well thought-out ad of the season

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

things that should be rights in the bill of rights in the constitution: - healthcare - housing (mixed use) - good public utilities - chicken - rice - nuclear power - kudzu -> american chestnut tree - digital bill of rights - ranked choice voting - prison for george bush (but he can paint)

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I do not think it should be difficult to look at Biden and Lula, and then to look at Sheinbaum and to Mamdani, and imagine the path we need to take.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

i made some signs if you are in st. louis county you can now buy them from the democratic party for $15 (and that helps our work & candidates)

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hood was only the third circuit judge to be rejected by voters since the retainment system was enacted in 1940. The first was in 1942, the second in 1992. The current judicial performance review committee process has only been in place since 2008, before then the Missouri Bar did their own thing.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

the last judge to actually be defeated in a retainment election was Dale Hood in 2016, when the committee was nearly unanimous in their decision to recommend against retainment: 10 against, only 1 for he was then defeated by St. Louis County voters, 59.59% against, 40.41% for

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

the last judge to fall below the committee’s standard was Barbara Peebles in 2018, the committee voted 11-8 against retainment with one abstention she was retained by St. Louis City voters anyway, though by a narrowish 55.5%-44.5% margin

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

once again the Judicial Performance Review committee recommends the retainment of every sitting judge once again I’m not sure if that’s a sign of strength or of weakness for the Missouri plan

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"Do Yard Signs Actually Matter" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

well you have a conflict of interest lol - I will say I do see your maps pop up often too and they’re often what I point people to, I just don’t publicly speak out when people use good maps!

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

our job would be a lot easier if local news media could just be discerning enough to just use the correct goshdang maps!! St. Louis Public Radio, St. Louis American, I don’t want to place blame on anyone but it keeps happening!

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

To see the Archdiocese pick fights and spend the wealth of the faithful on lies like these, while legal and unsurprising, is yet still sorely disappointing.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I grew up blessed with an education from both private catholic and public schools, I retain friends and family whose lives are inextricably linked to the Church and hold a great respect for their devotion to community-though I’ve personally left that life behind.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Archdiocese of St. Louis once called me a “well-known Democratic operative and abortion supporter” in an internal campaign memo. Totally unrelated, here’s the lying literature on Amendment 3 being paid for directly by the Archdiocese:

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I had a genuine nightmare about fighting over something with Robert’s rules. I was sprinting around trying to do something, help people, but nobody was understanding anything. I kept getting frustrated and panicked as things just spiralled out of control. There’s not enough tylenol in the world…

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

missouri republicans are right to point out that changing maps between the primary and general elections is, y’know, bad. because it is. but the politicians obviously don’t actually care about voter disenfranchisement, they put us in this mess and just want to direct their voter base against us

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

(this is partially but not entirely about the Mary Peltola stuff. which I have complicated feelings about. but generally, people, just don’t be weird in a cruel way or cruel in a weird way.)

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

spent about 10 hours straight in my vehicle today. not having the best of times.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

yep definitely far too high, though I thought both were at least serious enough contenders to get on the ballot and was pretty surprised to see otherwise

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

nobody is really talking about it but a bunch of Missouri’s state boards require or limit by law a number of appointees per congressional district so this redistricting mess is not only affecting our elections but causing confusion for boardmembers overseeing basic functions of our state government

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

this is how I learned Macias and Sigcho-Lopez didn’t qualify for the ballot, somehow I missed that

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

today’s word of the day is “crumple”

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I love this stupid godawful city so much

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Reposted by Gavin Bena 🗳

St. Louis Post-Dispatch @stltoday.com · 18/09/2026

Here are some things to know about the mid-decade redistricting fight in Missouri.

stltoday.com

A guide to Missouri redistricting in 5 questions

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

i am not a lawyer but i do know how to read which is pretty cool i think

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

fuck Denny Hoskins (on a personal level)

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

While it was of course far from the most important thing to occur that day, I’ve always been personally fascinated by the fact that 9/11 was New York City’s primary election day. Highly recommend this article on the NYC election board’s disaster response: electionline.org/electionline...

electionline.org

electionline Weekly - electionline

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

by 2,000, rounded to the nearest natural number. That brings the total number of possible weighted votes to 271, with an absolute majority needed to win the Democratic nomination. For more maps like this, consider supporting my work on Patreon: www.patreon.com/GavinBena/po...

patreon.com

MO-02 Democratic Committee Composition and Weighted Votes | Gavin Bena

If Missouri Democrats need to reaffirm our nominees for the November 2026 elections, we'll be ready: In the event that the 2026 primary winn

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

congressional district are entitled to a vote. At the nomination meeting, these committee members would receive weighted votes based on the number of votes the 2024 Democratic nominee for Governor received within their jurisdiction and within the congressional district, divided-

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

wards which overlap with the legislative (state house) districts which in turn overlap with the congressional district. Additionally, if they have not already qualified as a township or ward committee member, the Chair and Vice Chair of each County Committee overlapping with the-

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One committeewoman and one committeeman are elected to represent the voters of each township and ward, throughout Missouri. In the second congressional district the Democratic nominee would be chosen by up to 149 of the Democratic committee members representing the townships and-

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

If Missouri Democrats need to reaffirm our nominees for the 2026 elections, we'll be ready: In the event that the primary results are successfully challenged, the party's candidates would be nominated by the party committee members of each congressional district.

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

no, she could even try to run in CD5 or CD7 if she wanted to

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

- and I assume you meant CD1, not CD2

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

if the primary results are tossed out, it’s up to the party committee members to vote on who the nominees will be would Cori be eligible? yes. would she win? almost certainly not. (as one of those members I’ve pledged I’ll vote for the August winners, regardless of my personal opinion)

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

“you can’t change district lines between the primary and the general!!” yeah, and that’s why November’s elections will use the 2022 districts. It’s not the voters’ fault that Republicans used the wrong maps for the primary!

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

While the Missouri Supreme Court reaffirmed that our 2022 districts are in effect, they were silent on how the 2026 primary elections will be handled. It's possible the job of selecting our nominees will be left to party committee members like ol' me: www.patreon.com/GavinBena/po...

patreon.com

MO-01 Special Nomination Election Hypothetical (2022 District Boundaries) | Gavin Bena

While Missouri's Supreme Court has held that the 2022 congressional district boundaries will be used for our November 2026 elections, by my

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The court also ordered the SOS office to place Proposition A on the ballot-the referendum we collected signatures for through People Not Politicians. The referendum will be on whether to adopt the 2025 map, so the anti-gerrymandering option is "No."

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Gavin Bena 🗳 @gavinbena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The 2022 keeps Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City seat together, immediately changing a very likely Republican win to a near-certain Democratic win in the 5th. The old version of MO-02 is also slightly more evenly-balanced, significantly improving Fred Wellman's odds of defeating Ann Wagner in November.

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