2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumChuck Schumer's audacious prediction
Forget 2016: Democrats are on the cusp of a golden era, the incoming Democratic Senate leader says in a POLITICO interview.
By Burgess Everett and Edward-Isaac Dovere
07/29/16 05:15 AM EDT
PHILADELPHIA Chuck Schumer is feeling good enough about the battle for Senate control to essentially predict hell be majority leader next year. Not only that, the veteran New York Democrat believes his party is on the cusp of something much bigger: An era of electoral dominance.
Were going to have a Democratic generation. (President Barack Obama) helped create it. But its just where Americas moving demographically, ideologically and in every way, Schumer told POLITICO in a lengthy interview this week at the Democratic National Convention. Well have a mandate to get something done.
Schumers rosy outlook may be at odds with the many headaches confronting him if Democrats manage to pick up the four seats they need to flip the Senate.
The day after the election, Senate Democrats will be on defense. The party will face an awful map in the 2018 midterm and long odds to hang on to the Senate if they manage to win it this year, compounded by the potential for an electoral backlash if Hillary Clinton becomes president.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/chuck-schumer-interview-226385#ixzz4FomUxF1H
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Skinner
(63,645 posts)It concerns me a little to see the (likely) next Senate Democratic leader saying things like this.
WheelWalker
(8,960 posts)brooklynite
(95,070 posts)...when he was concerned that Koch money would be shifting from the Presidential into the neck-and-neck Senate races in IL-OH-PA-NC
CrispyQ
(36,581 posts)The Trouble For Democrats Thats Not Spelled With a Capital T-R-U-M-P
While the party has been making history at the national level, it's losing ground in the states.
BY KATHY KIELY | JULY 27, 2016
http://billmoyers.com/story/trouble-democrats-thats-not-spelled-capital-t-r-u-m-p/
snip...
Since 2010, in contests for state House and state Senate seats, Democrats have racked up a net deficit of 913 seats. Republicans now control 68 of the nations 99 state legislative chambers, a historic high. Of the 31 states where one party enjoys a trifecta holding the governors office and majorities in both state legislative chambers Republicans are in charge in 22.
That has enormous implications nationally.
In 2010, we gave away the House of Representatives for a decade, Rathod said, referring to the congressional redistricting maps, redrawn after every new Census. In most states thats done by legislators, and in most states Republicans controlled the process. The result are district lines that are so favorable to Republicans that many experts believe it will take another redistricting for Democrats to even have a prayer of regaining the House speakership.
more...
In Rathods opinion, Democrats have only themselves to blame. Even though both President Obama and outgoing Democratic National Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz started out as state legislators, The Democratic Party has effectively ignored down-ballot races, he says. The situation has become so dire that Politico reports the president will campaign for state legislative candidates this fall. He has a lot of catching up to do. Republicans have made smart and large investments in both state races and infrastructure building that has allowed them this historic control of state legislative chambers and policymaking at the state level, Rathod says.
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)duncang
(1,907 posts)I looked through the last 2 senate elections and there are some states that actual peoples vote between d and r are fairly close. I wonder if they think by appealing to the moderate and middle of the road christian more this cycle they can get more of that vote. Look at repub Senator Flakes district he is in that boat. Coming out against dipshit donnie. They have a lot of polling info. Maybe with a higher christian values theme they think it can make a difference. Not all christians are evangelicals.