What was promised to be a tight Virginia gubernatorial race turned out to not be so tight after all. Democrats flipped an astonishing 12 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates so far. They won, as expected, in New Jersey's governor's race. They look to be winning a ballot measure in Maine to expand Medicaid in that state under the ACA. Bill De Blasio cruised to re-election.
It's too early to look hard at what happened in Virginia with any definitive stance. Nate Cohn points to something that, if true, is critically important. If his numbers are correct, Gillespie actually outperformed previous Republicans in the rural parts of the state.
He got crushed in the suburbs.
Look, Democrats should run the best candidates possible in the most districts possible. But if they flip the House a year from now, it will be in the suburbs.
Meanwhile, here in Connecticut, the Lovely And Talented Wife ran as an Independent for Town Council. Our town has a very strong Republican tilt and the Democrats are a feeble "Me Too!" party that has few ideas and little vision. She became involved with these Independents - they are ferociously passionate about town politics - because she always wanted to run for office. She took the loss well, but it is instructive of how elections work.
If you are in opposition, you have to concentrate your attack. The Republicans are the Party of Power in our town. You have to hold your nose and unite with your closest allies to take them down.
Northam won in Virginia by being decent, even bland. He won over anti-Trumpist suburban independents and probably some soft Republicans.
Maybe it will require a firebrand to win in 2020. I doubt it. The finger pointing in Virginia going into the election ultimately didn't matter. But Democrats will need to concentrate their opposition. To Trump. To the GOP. To the whole corrupt gang.
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