A crazy Dem special election overperformance

Holy moly! Ohio Democrats just turned in an astounding special election performance on Tuesday night—in a conservative rural district they had no reason to think would be favorable in any way. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard discuss what it means on this week's episode of "The Downballot," including why it's a bad idea to ignore the warning signs that special elections writ large are flashing for Republicans.

We also recap some wild GOP primaries in South Carolina and explain why Democrats should not challenge a successful ballot measure in North Dakota that would bar octogenarians from serving in Congress.

Our guest this week is Pete Maysmith, who runs political campaigns for the League of Conservation Voters, one of the leading environmental organizations in the country. Maysmith tells us about the top environmental issues that motivate voters—and why LCV is also happy to highlight other topics, like the cost of insulin, if it'll help climate champions win. He also zooms in on several of LCV's key target races this fall and explains how addressing climate change can be a winning issue even on red turf.