The Democrats still have the majority in the House of Representatives, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Some races have not been called, but so far Democrats have not ousted incumbent Republicans while Republicans ousted Democrat incumbents.
From what I can tell on the map at The New York Times, the GOP flipped eight districts. The GOP held onto Michigan’s 3rd District after Justin Amash decided not to run again. Democrats flipped two seats blue.
So who or what is to blame?
Fingers have pointed to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) leader Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL). A Democratic aide told The Daily Beast that “[T]he knives are out for Cheri,” describing her as the “most obvious scapegoat.”
The Associated Press only called Bustos’s race today. She barely squeaked by her opponent.
Some Democrats expect “a significant overhaul” within the DCCC:
Others argued that the DCCC had been far too bullish in seats the party was realistically never going to pick up — citing races such as Arkansas’ 2nd District — while missing the looming disaster in South Florida, where incumbents Shalala and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell were ousted. Several Democrats said the party operation was not focused on a cohesive, proactive message that went beyond simply opposing Trump, who proved to remain popular in many districts.And some said DCCC wasted time battling the party’s left flank with its contentious policies designed to stymie primary challengers.
Strategist Kristen Hawn suggested some changes:
Party strategists like Kristen Hawn, however, are looking at the results Wednesday and seeing a reckoning—arguing that Democrats need to do some soul-searching and seriously sharpen their messaging around what it is they’re exactly for.“We had all the money in the world,” said Hawn, a former top aide to the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, referring to the strong fundraising from Bustos’ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and from individual candidates. “It was incredibly disappointing.”
Hawn lashed out at the far-left members of Congress because their antics made it easier for Republicans to label the Democratic Party as socialists.
Then there’s Nancy Pelosi:
Progressives, meanwhile, saw in the results a repudiation of moderate politics and Pelosi’s iron grip on House Democrats.“Nancy Pelosi is very bad at messaging and strategy, and extremely good at controlling her caucus,” said a strategist in the party. “That’s a bad combination when everyone defers to her unexplainable strategy on coronavirus relief and then Democrats lose seats everywhere to a party that just killed 200,000 people and lost millions of jobs. It’s malpractice, and we just keep following her. It makes no sense.”
Does anyone else see a problem within that quote from the strategist? Talk about messaging.
The majority of Americans know that the Republican Party didn’t kill over 200,000. COVID-19 killed 200,000. A virus is going to virus no matter who is in charge.
Maybe, I don’t know, both parties should listen to their constituents. Crazy idea, right? I mean, they are in Congress to represent us.
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