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2018 Elections Tag

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 02, 2017 12 Comments
The Democrats have decided to use the GOP's attempts to repeal Obamacare to their advantage in 2018. From The Hill:
“I think the message is really simple here: As long as Republicans control Congress, your health care is on the chopping block,” said Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), House Democrats’ campaign arm.
One problem: The GOP has shown that despite having control of Congress, they have not been able to repeal Obamacare.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 27, 2017 14 Comments
The GOP received two shocks on Tuesday when Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) decided not to run for re-election in 2018 and Judge Roy Moore defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in the Republican primary. But how YUGE is Corker's retirement? Probably not much in the long run. Plus, it looks like the GOP could actually pick up more seats in 2018 since 10 Democrats up for reelection come from states that President Donald Trump won in November.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 13, 2017 19 Comments
If we judged elections that are over a year (congressional midterms) and three years (presidential) away based on current approval ratings and popularity polling, Donald Trump would seem done for. Indeed, that is the prevailing media narrative. Though there was a recent blip upward, Trumps favorability and job approval numbers are poor. Here is a chart of Trump's job approval ratings from 538 based on a composite of all polls:

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on September 01, 2017 12 Comments
Appearing on today's Morning Joe, Rep. Joe Crowley, the fourth-ranking member of the Dem House leadership, stated that President Obama is "leading the charge" on efforts in state legislative races. Crowley was responding to Joe Scarborough's question as to what Dems will do differently from what they did in November, when they got "absolutely shellacked."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 15, 2017 17 Comments
Musician Kid Rock has made waves since he hinted that he may challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in November 2018. But Michigan rules may prohibit the name Kid Rock and force him to use his real name Robert Ritchie. Roll Call reported:
If Ritchie were to submit enough valid signatures to make the ballot and indicate that he wanted to be listed as “Kid Rock,” the Michigan Bureau of Elections staff would have to research the question of whether that name would be allowed. At an initial glance, Ritchie’s stage name isn’t an obviously acceptable one under the state’s criteria.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 11, 2017 12 Comments
One would think the way the left and media rails against President Donald Trump and the GOP in Congress the Democratic Party would be prepared to go into 2018 and make dents in Capital Hill. It helps that GOP donors have decided to withhold funds after the Obamacare debacle. Nope. In Politico, Michael Whitney, who led fundraising for Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) in the primaries, wrote that the Democrats have "a serious fundraising crisis" mainly because the party has a tough time convincing small-dollar donors to donate.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 01, 2017 9 Comments
About a week ago, Professor Jacobson blogged about the crappy new Democratic party slogan: "A Better Deal: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Wages". "The lesson Democrats appear to have learned from losing to Donald Trump is that they need to move further to the left," he blogged.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 23, 2017 31 Comments
The lesson Democrats appear to have learned from losing to Donald Trump is that they need to move further to the left. We see that in the roll-out of a pathetic new slogan focusing on language invoking FDR's New Deal. As first reported by Jeff Stein at Vox, the slogan is ... (I'm embarrassed for the Dems to even have to type it, it's so bad) ...
"A Better Deal: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Wages"
Stein further notes that the slogan is "the result of months of polling and internal deliberations among the House Democratic caucus." Democrat activists/journalists are not loving it:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 19, 2017 36 Comments
Polling this far out from the mid-term elections in November 2018 is just guesswork. But a Washington Post - ABC News poll has Democrats worried, because while it shows voters in general want a change in control of Congress, it also shows that Republicans in general, and Trump supporters particularly, are much more motivated to vote. Aaron Blake at The Fix (WaPo) writes, This poll should be a warning sign for Democrats:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 21, 2017 17 Comments
In the aftermath of four Special Election defeats, including a devastating loss in Georgia's Sixth District, Democrats are trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Democrats were expecting anti-Trump *Resistance* to be enough. But it wasn't. It's not that focusing intently on the opposing party's leader doesn't work anymore. It's that the leader against whom such a tactic worked wasn't Republican Donald Trump, but Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Supporters of Karen Handel pegged Democrat Jon Ossoff as just another Pelosi puppet. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted the Pelosi effect:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 06, 2017 16 Comments
While the 2018 Texas Senate race is slowly simmering on the backburner, fundraising and campaign efforts on the ground are in full swing. Beto O'Rourke, the young Democrat Congressman from El Paso has emerged as the only challenger to incumbent Sen. Cruz thus far. Thanks to social media, O'Rourke landed on the radar of one of Hollywood's most vocal left-wingers -- Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell proudly tweeted her support for O'Rourke and boasted giving the max contribution to his campaign.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 02, 2017 7 Comments
San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro announced Monday he will not challenge Sen. Cruz in the upcoming Senate race. Castro has been pushing off his public announcement since February. As of last week, he was reportedly undecided.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on May 01, 2017 8 Comments
I predicted that the shenanigans used to lift-up the weak primary campaign of Hillary Clinton against her grassroots challenger, Bernie Sanders, would impact the Democratic Party for some time to come. Those chickens are now coming home to roost!

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 31, 2017 13 Comments
Elizabeth Warren is emerging as the symbol of "resistance" to Trump, despite the attempts of Clinton World to slide Chelsea into that slot. That's not by chance. Republicans are desperate to find someone to run against in 2018. Republicans need a new foil.There is no obvious Democrat to run against, because there are no big name national Democrats left. Pelosi and Schumer are old news. Bernie has had his day in the sun. Warren fits the bill.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 21, 2017 8 Comments
Democrats are still feeling the sting of defeat over the presidential election and many of them are hopeful for some form of victory in the 2018 midterms. They're going to face a tougher opponent than the Republicans however, and it's coming from inside their own party. The Progressive movement, which makes up a significant portion of the party's base, wants candidates who reflect their values and that doesn't bode well for victory. Alex Seitz-Wald writes at NBC News:
Democrats Beware: Sanders ‘Movement’ Turns to Midterms With Democrats facing tough prospects in the midterm elections, will they also have to worry about primary challenges from their left flank?
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