GOP tsunami is sweeping away Democrat hopes for midterm elections
In this Jan. 17, 2018 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a candidate debate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Bernie’s going to have a hard time getting into the Senate because the voters are looking for something different.”
When you think of the Senate Democratic caucus you probably don’t conjure up the image of a sea of purple faces — many of which are likely to have been elected by Democrats for years to come — toiling away on a blue legislative pen at the state and local level.
Well, that is exactly where the Democratic Party is heading, if the latest polling numbers are any indication.
Recent polling numbers show a steady erosion in the fortunes of the Democrats in Congress — and in the state legislatures. The Democratic Party’s chances of winning the Senate, for example, dropped 16 percentage points in the past year, while the Democratic presidential bid collapsed from a 15 point lead to 4 in the past three months.
Meanwhile, in two key states, North Dakota and Texas, Democrats have lost the state senate and both chambers of the Texas house of representatives to a Tea Party-driven GOP landslide.
Democratic hopes of winning the Senate fell from 15 points to 4 points over the past three weeks, while the Democratic presidential candidate’s lead in Iowa fell from 10 points to 3 in the same time period.
Democrats are suffering from many of the same problems that have hurt Democrat presidential prospects in the past. In addition to their disinterest in and apathy toward the issues closest to their hearts, Democrats are facing a severe gerrymandering problem at the state legislative level.
Democrats have been forced to try and win back the state houses they had been able to take over in the 2008 and 2012 elections, because redistricting has made it so difficult for them to do so. The problem the Democratic Party has had is that they have been forced to draw legislative lines in ways that are favorable to Republicans, and in some cases, unfavorable to the party.
Democrats have also been able to use their control of the House of Representatives