Unhinged but accurate

TDWS: Progressive Candidate Rundown

A visit from Walter Rhein + two Congressional candidates, Ericka Kopp and Shelby Campbell

By Lawrence Winnerman, Dana DuBois, Walter Rhein, Shelby Campbell, and Ericka KoppApril 29, 2026 · 1 min read

Today were joined by Walter Rhein and two congressional candidates, Shelby Campbell (Michigan) and Ericka Kopp for VA-01 (Virginia), and the throughline was pretty clear: people are done waiting to be handed a voice.

We talked about everything from broken primaries and money in politics to generational trauma, sex work, healthcare, and what it actually looks like to run for office as a regular person right now.

Messy, honest, occasionally unhinged—in the best way.

And underneath all of it, a real sense that new voices aren’t just coming… they’re already here.

Thank you LeftieProf, Sean M Hines, Noble Blend, Courtney, Kim G, and many others for tuning in. And biggest thanks ever to our amazing mods, Karen Marie Shelton and Yanni Hamburger. Y’all are the best.

Love you all, mean it!

View the original

Lawrence Winnerman

The science fiction writer

Lawrence Winnerman is a science fiction writer in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After twenty-five years leading technology programs at Amazon and Microsoft, he was chief operating officer of Blue Amp Media. In his Substack publication, The Hinge & The Near Field, he writes about AI and democracy and is serializing his novel Light Shines Through. He co-hosts The Daily Whatever Show. All stories by Lawrence

Dana DuBois

The memoirist

Dana DuBois is a memoirist and Gen X word nerd based in the Pacific Northwest. She founded I Write Out Loud, her Substack publication, where she writes across a range of subjects; parenting, music and pop culture, relationships, and feminism are her favorites. She co-hosts The Daily Whatever Show. Em dashes, Oxford commas, and well-placed semicolons make her heart happy. All stories by Dana