2022 Midterm Thread: Red Wave or Blue Wave

[DJ Kornphlake]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Political Wire - Republican Turnout Wasn’t the Problem

New York Times: “In state after state, the final turnout data shows that registered Republicans turned out at a higher rate — and in some places a much higher rate — than registered Democrats, including in many of the states where Republicans were dealt some of their most embarrassing losses.”

“Instead, high-profile Republicans like Herschel Walker in Georgia or Blake Masters in Arizona lost because Republican-leaning voters decided to cast ballots for Democrats.”

 

[squeekness]

Political Wire - Republican Turnout Wasn’t the Problem

Maybe they will figure out MAGA isn't working anymore.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

How Trump's legacy became 'pure poison' for independents | CNN Politics

The Hill - How Democrats won the midterms

Daily Kos - The anti-Trump coalition not only held in 2022, it got stronger

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

 

[squeekness]

She deserved to lose.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

 

[squeekness]

Good luck with that, lol...

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Axios - Democrats show signs of life in rural America

NBC News - Republicans struggle in the Southwest as Latino voters stick with Democrats

 

[InCali]

Axios - Democrats show signs of life in rural America

NBC News - Republicans struggle in the Southwest as Latino voters stick with Democrats

Courting the rural and working class voters was something Biden spoke to a long time ago. It was only in 2015 or so that people took notice.

 

[squeekness]

Courting the rural and working class voters was something Biden spoke to a long time ago. It was only in 2015 or so that people took notice.

It needs to continue. I've seen news reporting that showed a vast difference in opinion between rural and city people, a difference I've not fully understood.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

It needs to continue. I've seen news reporting that showed a vast difference in opinion between rural and city people, a difference I've not fully understood.

Rural areas are vast majority white while big cities are majority non-white. Race is the biggest factor.

The white guy Biden scares white people less than the woman (Hillary Clinton) or black guy (Barack Obama) did as much as that disgusts me.

• The four Black Senate and gubernatorial nominees in the biggest battlegrounds (Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin) all underperformed Biden in their states' rural counties. Only one other Democrat in the analysis (defeated Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak) did worse than Biden in rural counties.
• In the Georgia runoff, Sen. Raphael Warnock underperformed Biden by 1.8% in the state's rural counties, even as he overperformed the president by 5.3% in the urban counties.

additionally, rural area residents are older than urban area residents.

Census.gov: “Rural America is older than urban America. The median age of all people living in rural areas is 43 years, compared with 36 years for urban areas.” Dec 8, 2016

Another factor beyond ethnicity and gender and age is education.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Rural areas are red because they're very Christian, traditional, pro-gun and anti-taxes.

Cities are blue because they're very secular, progressive, pro-diversity and pro-tolerance.

 

[InCali]

Rural areas are red because they're very Christian, traditional, pro-gun and anti-taxes.

Cities are blue because they're very secular, progressive, pro-diversity and pro-tolerance.

What you are bringing up are factors in the reason that rural areas tend to be red. What may be even more important though is that rural areas have tended to be ignored by the Democrats. It’s important to work on that and help them understand that what’s good for working people is good for them whether or not they live in a city or in a rural area.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

What you are bringing up are factors in the reason that rural areas tend to be red. What may be even more important though is that rural areas have tended to be ignored by the Democrats. It’s important to work on that and help them understand that what’s good for working people is good for them whether or not they live in a city or in a rural area.

I think Democrats also have to convince rural areas that fascism and theocracy would not benefit them. The risk is they might fully embrace those concepts to stick it to the "degenerate commies".

I think this strategy might be better used with independents who are more anti-authoritarian than the rural folk. Plus there's so many independents they decide every election.

 

[mclay18]

I think Democrats also have to convince rural areas that fascism and theocracy would not benefit them. The risk is they might fully embrace those concepts to stick it to the "degenerate commies".

I think this strategy might be better used with independents who are more anti-authoritarian than the rural folk. Plus there's so many independents they decide every election.

That's not true. A good amount of unaffiliated independent voters cast partisan votes consistently for one party but don't want to be labeled as such. Only a small amount of independents are true independent voters -- it's the loyal party voters and partisan leaning unaffiliated voters that make the difference.

And here in purplish red states, it's best to let voters decide the primary candidates that go on to the general election -- and not someone like Chuck Schumer. I remember how he wanted Conor Lamb to win the PA primary, but Lamb ended up losing to Fetterman (who ended up winning the general election against Oz). And Fetterman played up his everyman persona and hit every single county, even the red ones.

And a similar situation happened here in NC. Schumer threw his support behind Cheri Beasley in the primary (when Jeff Jackson would've been better) and then didn't give her much support after she won. They were too focused on trying to flip Ohio and Florida when those were too far gone. Had Beasley fully embraced negative partisanship (like beating Budd over the head with his voting to decertify the 2020 election) and got the funding she needed -- she could've flipped that red seat.

We need a NC answer for Fetterman. Someone that's comfortable with going to all the state counties and someone that folks are comfortable with voting for (even if he/she is from the opposite party).

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

That's not true. A good amount of unaffiliated independent voters cast partisan votes consistently for one party but don't want to be labeled as such. Only a small amount of independents are true independent voters -- it's the loyal party voters and partisan leaning unaffiliated voters that make the difference.

And here in purplish red states, it's best to let voters decide the primary candidates that go on to the general election -- and not someone like Chuck Schumer. I remember how he wanted Conor Lamb to win the PA primary, but Lamb ended up losing to Fetterman (who ended up winning the general election against Oz). And Fetterman played up his everyman persona and hit every single county, even the red ones.

And a similar situation happened here in NC. Schumer threw his support behind Cheri Beasley in the primary (when Jeff Jackson would've been better) and then didn't give her much support after she won. They were too focused on trying to flip Ohio and Florida when those were too far gone. Had Beasley fully embraced negative partisanship (like beating Budd over the head with his voting to decertify the 2020 election) and got the funding she needed -- she could've flipped that red seat.

We need a NC answer for Fetterman. Someone that's comfortable with going to all the state counties and someone that folks are comfortable with voting for (even if he/she is from the opposite party).

It's going to be hard to find more Fetterman's. Yeah he had the biker persona which the blue collar folks were crazy for but he had a rock solid record of community activism and rebuilding struggling communities so the substance was there also. Then you also had him buck the system and make hard fought changes without help from powerful Washington insiders.

The man is really a unicorn. It's really a shame we don't have an army of guys and gals like him.

 

[mclay18]

I
The man is really a unicorn. It's really a shame we don't have an army of guys and gals like him.

I hope Fetterman's victory in PA paves the way for more candidates like him across the country in the years to come.

And it's a shame Schumer did NOT support him in the primary. I hope it makes him open to looking at more offbeat candidates, not polished policy wonks.

 

[Lily Adler]

I hope Fetterman's victory in PA paves the way for more candidates like him across the country in the years to come.

And it's a shame Schumer did NOT support him in the primary. I hope it makes him open to looking at more offbeat candidates, not polished policy wonks.

Wait until his next election cycle...

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Russians Used Fake Kid Rock Fan Accounts to Fool Donald Trump Jr. – Rolling Stone

The trolls stuck to themes familiar to previous Russian influence operations, including support for fringe or far-right candidates. The trolls backed Kari Lake, the Trump-backed failed Republican candidate for governor, creating a “war room” account for Lake that has since pivoted to echoing bogus voter-fraud claims in the wake of her defeat. In addition to hyping Lake, the trolls also attacked Democratic Senate candidates in battleground states, such Raphael Warnock in Georgia and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

 

[InCali]

That lawsuit had an absolutely 0% chance of success......unless he can find a way to get Aileen Cannon on the case. She doesn't seem to worry about jurisdictional issues. Maybe he should try to see if he can get an "independent review".

 

[squeekness]

That lawsuit had an absolutely 0% chance of success......unless he can find a way to get Aileen Cannon on the case. She doesn't seem to worry about jurisdictional issues. Maybe he should try to see if he can get an "independent review".

Lols.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Eli Stokols, Politico: “Incisive, scoopy report on what really happened in 2022: abortion (+ Trumpism) drove GOP-voting women to Ds. And mostly male-run R campaigns underestimated the threat… ‘an intangible that’s hard to explain to men.’ via @ec_schneider @hollyotterbein” ‘THE central issue’: How the fall of Roe v. Wade shook the 2022 election