Derek Willis

@dwillis.bsky.social

6827 Followers 689 Following

I teach data journalism at the University of Maryland, run OpenElections. Fan of WBB & test cricket. Posting obscure things about campaign finance, Congress & elections. https://github.com/dwillis https://thescoop.org https://buttondown.com/dwillis

A screenshot of two JSON objects, one describing a House resolution adding a member to a committee and the other describing a resolution removing a member from another committee.
A fundraising email from Conrad Cable, a Democrat running against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with the subject line of "I'm running against the Antichrist"
A screenshot of a women's college basketball coaching game I made with assistance from Claude Code. Go Terps.
An image that appears in a fundraising email of Donald Trump holding a red card with "Anti Communist Club" in white letters.
America’s 250th celebrations marked by severe weather, political division In the nation’s sweltering capital, white supremacists and liberal activists marched, each demanding their country back. --- Yep, that's what it says.
TRUMP HAS NEVER BEEN MORE MAD! ✅ Chief Justice Roberts SLAMMED Trump and called the Rule of Law “ENDANGERED” after Trump threatened judges who defy his agenda. Then Roberts ruled AGAINST Trump’s scheme to destroy Vote‑by‑Mail. ✅ Now Obama is COMMANDING Democrats to step up… and our campaign to pass the No Kings Act before Trump’s taxpayer-funded Trump rally is going VIRAL!! ✅ We’ve NEVER been closer to DESTROYING Trump’s immunity and finally holding him accountable for his actions. But we desperately need EVERY. SINGLE. Louisiana. Democrat to step up and take action TODAY.
A screenshot of a recent House office expenses CSV file filtered on the word "Kean"
Hi, I hope you don’t mind me reaching out so personally, Peter. I’m sitting here alone tonight, staring at our latest reports, and I’m struggling to find the words. I usually try so hard to stay strong and keep a brave face for the rest of the team, but looking at these numbers... I’m distraught. The truth is, we are much further behind than I ever imagined we’d be at this point. It’s a weight I honestly can’t carry by myself anymore, and I fear what’s going to happen next. I feel like we’re letting you down and failing the mission we started together. I’ve reached the point where I have to swallow my pride and humble myself before you. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent, but I don’t know where else to turn. You’re truly the only person I feel I can trust with the full truth right now.
A headline of a Baltimore Sun story about John Bolton that reads: "Baltimore native, ex‑Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty in classified case"
Because when I strip everything else away — the strategy, the polling, the noise — you are the only answer. NOT A PAC. NOT A PARTY CHECK. You. YOU ARE THE ONLY ANSWER. ACT RIGHT NOW
Methodology The analysis is based on 2026 House primary results up to June 9 from the Associated Press, and primary races from 2018 and 2022 from the same districts. Primaries are compared between midterm years if a race was contested in both midterm years. Primaries are compared based on district number, regardless of redistricting. The votes in nonpartisan primaries are split by Democratic or Republican candidates and considered as separate primaries in analysis. A primary is considered competitive if the margin between the first-place candidate and the runner-up candidate is less than or equal to 10 percentage points. In nonpartisan primaries, competitiveness is determined within party lines. Special-election results are from the AP. The analysis does not include results from the special election in California’s 14th District held on June 16.
AI likes blocks.
A fundraising email from California congressional candidate Joe Males that reads: Republicans are in CLOSE RACES right now. The Radical Left has BRUTALLY KIDNAPPED the minds of the young and inexperienced. You could be one of the last defenders of our true American way of life. Take a stand against LEFTISM and take a stand against the COMMUNIST ideals they push. Are you with us??? YES NO If Patriots continue sitting on the sidelines, the Radical Left will WIN in November. That means more open borders, more pronouns, and more alphabet letters. Will you take a stand with us BEFORE MIDNIGHT?
A screenshot of a text game called Hoops where you coach a women's college basketball team against the computer or a friend. There's a box score on the left and the play-by-play output on the right, along with various commands for substituting players, changing strategies or seeing the full box score.
A political fundraising email from Ken Paxton of Texas that has the subject line of "I'm checking the secure log" and reads: I am reviewing the access log for the Oval Office briefing I sent you earlier, and your status still shows you haven't accessed your document. My meeting with President Trump was heavily scrutinized by the media, but the actual plan we discussed is for our eyes only. I need to know you are on board with our America First plan to save the country. Security protocols dictate that we cannot leave these secure links active indefinitely. You have roughly 15 minutes to access the file.
A screenshot of a political fundraising email from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, with the subject line of "HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INTELLIGENCE REPORT FOR dpwillis67@gmail.com" that reads: Fellow American, What we're about to share with you doesn't make the evening news. While the mainstream media looks the other way, our intelligence sources are sounding the alarm — and you need to hear it directly from us. Therefore, we’ve authorized your security clearance to read this briefing until MIDNIGHT tonight. Please read and act now to help us.
A political fundraising message from Rep. Eli Crane, R-Arizona, with the subject line: "REDUCE POLITICAL EMAILS?" that reads: ${Recipient.FIRST_NAME}... REQUEST TO REDUCE POLITICAL EMAILS: PENDING We have your request on file - but your confirmation is still missing. No donation, just one step. Confirm now or this request will not be processed. CONFIRM HERE You will be shocked to know that confirming does not actually reduce political emails.
A fundraising email from Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., with the subject line "Knicks or Spurs?" that reads: Quick one for you. Mike grew up watching the Knicks at the Garden and there are some real loyalists on staff who think the Spurs have the better future. We need a tiebreaker. Who you got? One click. We'll share the results next week. — Team Lawler NY-17
Two line charts showing the frequency of mentions of tech topics in political fundraising emails over time, by party. Democrats mostly aren't talking about these topics, but there's a small uptick lately. Republicans - after focusing on "Big Tech" around 2021 - have dropped back down to near where Dems are.
A fundraising email from Tom Kean. Not the MIA NJ congressman, but his dad, the former NJ governor.
A screenshot from jobs.irs.gov that reads "We understand time isn't a mere important commodity in life than time. That's why we offer diverse leave options, including 13 paid holidays and 26 days paid time off annually."
A fundraising email from House Majority PAC with the subject line "ActBlue under attack" that reads: FOX NEWS: ACTBLUE CEO TO FACE “CONGRESSIONAL GRILLING” IN PUBLIC HEARING Donald Trump and Republicans are at it again: FIRST: Trump signed an illegal memo to try to SHUT DOWN ActBlue. THEN: Grassroots supporters STOOD UP and fought back – and WON! BUT NOW: House Republicans are planning to INTERROGATE the ActBlue CEO at a public testimony to intimidate us into silence. Trump and Republicans are trying to BULLY their way into SHUTTING DOWN ActBlue. It’s right out of the dictator’s playbook. We won’t – and we CAN’T – let them get away with it! That’s why we’re marshaling a HISTORIC fundraising day – 5,000 donations before midnight – to make their plan BACKFIRE and send them a resounding message: We will NEVER let you suppress our voices and cheat your way into power. That’s why top Democrats agreed to 700% MATCH every donation that hits our account before midnight – and that’s why we’re imploring you one final time if you’ll stand up to hold Trump and Republicans ACCOUNTABLE! >> RUSH A 7X-MATCHED DONATION >>
Survey question that reads: All other things being equal, hypothetically, if there was a public dispute between Corona Beer and Budweiser Beer, without any details which company would you be most likely to side with? Corona Budweiser Neither Unsure
A screenshot of the new Hoops game, showing a game between Maryland and Ohio State from the 2025-26 season with box score and play-by-play narrative.
Sloppity slop slop
Slop, I tell you
Yep, it's slop.
still slop
It's just slop
KERR LET ME into the entrance hall of his home overlooking the bridge. We climbed the stairs to the second floor, with a big light-spangled den, and an open white kitchen and a dining room with a framed art photograph of Muhammad Ali. Margot Kerr grinned when she saw my Taylor Swift Eras Tour hoodie. Steve told me a story. Three years ago, to entertain himself in his press conferences, Steve worked phrases from Swift's song "All Too Well" into his interview answers, smoothly enough that nobody noticed. For instance, to get the first line of the song, he took the podium after beating the Rockets in March of 2023 and said, "I walked through the door of the locker room at halftime." Over a long season he got most of the lyrics done, crossing them off as he went. His son Matthew later edited them into a video for their family group chat, so that Kerr appeared to have recited the whole song.
A line chart showing the number of deaths by homicide and suicide in Maryland between 2018-2025. The homicide line is above the suicide line until 2025, when the two lines cross.
OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY is pleased to present 2026 Speaker Series How to Raise a Citizen (and why it's up to you to do it) with author Lindsey Cormack, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science at Stevens Institute of Technology Co-sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Anne Arundel County Branch, annearundelcounty-md.aauw.net| LWV LEAGUE DE WOMEN VOTERS® Lindscy Cormack HOW + TO RAISE CITIZEN (And why it's up to you to do it) Wednesday, May 13, 7pm Crowne Plaza Hotel, 173 Jennifer Rd, Annapolis 21401 AAUM Anne Arundel County Free and open to the public. Scan QR code to learn more. lwvaacmd.org info@lwvaacmd.org • 443-672-8270
The Sanctuary Choir at National United Methodist Church will perform Ola Gjeilo's "Song of the Universal" on May 10, 2026, during the 10 AM service. This performance highlights Gjeilo's popular contemporary choral works, often characterized by lush harmonies and a blend of sacred and cinematic styles.Key Gjeilo Performances & Details:Performance: "Song of the Universal" for choir and instrumentation (May 10, 2026).Composer Style: Norwegian-born, Juilliard-trained composer known for works like "The Ground," "Northern Lights," and "Sunrise Mass".Location: National UMC is located in Washington, D.C.Context: Gjeilo's music is frequently performed in UMC and other church concert series due to its accessible, contemplative, and spiritual nature.For more information about the performance or to verify, check National UMC's website.
The Washington Post analyzed 1,435 hours of Nick Fuentes’s live streams and videos preserved on Rumble, from January 2025 through the end of March 2026, to identify donations sent to Fuentes in the form of “superchats” displayed on screen. The Post took screenshots every 2 seconds for each video, then extracted on-screen text from the resulting 2.6 million frames with the artificial intelligence tool PaddleOCR to obtain donor usernames and amounts. Some donations may have been missed because of optical character recognition (OCR) errors or superchats shown for less than two seconds, but a manual review of four videos found the method to be more than 99 percent accurate.
Subject line: Your silence is being counted in your area. Sender: ICE Survey Desk Body: OFFICIAL SURVEY DOCUMENT ICE Enforcement Accountability Survey ADDRESSED TO: Peter SURVEY ZONE: YOUR AREA SURVEY STATE: YOUR STATE ⚠ STATUS ALERT — RESPONSE WINDOW CLOSING ICE survey responses for your area are being finalized. Most people in your area have already responded.
A mural on the side of a building in downtown Richmond showing a glowering fat rabbit holding a block of cheese. It is labeled “The Velveeta Rabbit”
Honestly, alt text for this is probably bad for people - they are better off not knowing.