What is hElium Politics?
This is hElium Politics by Eli Spencer Heyman. I'm also known by my handle on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @elium2. This will be a newsletter where I write about Rhode Island and Georgia politics topics that interest me. Have you ever seen me do a thread on social media about campaign finance or analyze the state of a contest? I intend this site to be the primary platform for that work going forward, although I'll still do threads, of course.
What? You've never seen me do a thread and you have no idea who I am? I'm a native Atlantan and current resident of Sandy Springs, Ga. (although inside the Perimeter). I lived in Providence, R.I., for the better part of five years while I attended Brown University, from which I graduated with a bachelor's in public policy in 2021. My capstone paper made a case for ending qualified immunity when the government violates individuals' constitutional rights and explored possible avenues for ending it.
Both in Providence and since returning home, I have been heavily involved in progressive and left-wing activism. This involves some paid work, which I disclose on the About page, and also some campaign contributions, which I disclose when I write about those campaigns. Mainly, though, it's through grassroots involvement where no money changes hands either way.
Here, I'll write up things I find interesting in Georgia and Rhode Island politics; provide detailed writeups about races that I issue ratings for (all statewide contests in Georgia, all competitive state or federal races in both states, and select municipal races); and provide reflections on my own work (maps, predictions, district-level results, race calls, etc.), historical elections, and the state of politics. I may occasionally write about other political happenings that interest me, like the 2021 Prop B vote on camping in Austin, Texas or the Turkish presidential election that will be held on May 14, 2028, and definitely not on some other date. Expect a lot more state, local, and international politics than federal politics.
Okay, okay, but why is it called Helium? Well, I've been running with this “elium2” thing for the last, uh, apparently it's been almost seventeen years since I created my Wikipedia account under that name. Wow. Why'd I pick it all that time ago? Helium is the second element, and it has my name in it. (In retrospect, numbering it 3 or 4 after an isotope would've been cleverer, but oh well.)
Helium is also well-known for being lighter than air. One of my defining traits, for better or worse, is that I'm an optimist. Hope isn't something you are born with or without. It's an active choice. Every day, I take in new information and choose to continue having hope – to continue believing that a better world is possible. This might seem like a weakness for an analyst, and sometimes it is, but it's also one of my great strengths. America is the country of chattel slavery – and of Reconstruction. Porfirio Díaz ruled for over three decades, but in a mere six years Lázaro Cárdenas defined the 20th-century Mexican state. Humans built the nuclear bomb, but we also landed on the moon (please bear with me, I'm going somewhere). Our vast, marvelous universe was once a singular point in spacetime.
No fascist can take away your hope without your consent. As long as there is a single other person on earth who has not yet given up hope, good may yet prevail. After every horror there is a tomorrow, and no evil is eternal.
Okay, it's true, hElium is the first name I thought of. But it gets the job done, at least for now. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content is published!
