Without a doubt, last night marked another massive win for Republicans across the nation, riding unexpected coattails of a surging Donald Trump to victories at all levels of American government. Republicans held the U.S. Senate, and made pre-election talk of Democrats taking the House look foolish. Across the nation, Republicans expanded their power in state legislatures and picked up several governorships–increasingly vital advantages with 2020’s all-important redistricting looming in the distance.
And of course, the full meaning of Trump’s victory and its portent for the future of American democracy cannot be objectively processed today.
But here in Colorado, in the third Republican “wave election” in six years, Democrats survived with not only minimal losses, but some modest wins to console themselves while mourning the national headlines. Clinton carried the state, the third consecutive presidential win for Democrats here. Michael Bennet’s victory, though unexpectedly narrow, underscores the huge missed opportunity for Republicans caused by Darryl Glenn’s nomination. Democrats expanded their majority in the Colorado House by several seats, and appear to have ousted several of the state’s more embarrassing hard-right Republicans in both chambers.
We’ll have much more to say as we pick up the pieces of the 2016 elections in Colorado, and unpack the many undeniable failures on both sides. At the end of the day, the parties in Colorado fought to a draw. In an election that turned from retreat to rout for Democrats nationally, this can reasonably be considered a victory for Democrats locally.
But it’s not at all what they expected. And on balance, it only provides so much comfort the morning after.
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Glenn could have won this race if he had a competent campaign organization. Bad advice to call on Trump to withdraw from the race. That was the establishment position, like Mike Coffman.
yeah, it sure hurt Coffman, powerless one.
Understand what you're saying. Encumbency does have some benefits, no room fo error with a novice.
Frankly, I never understood the "need" for a candidate, for federal office, to disclose who, or what, they are voting for on anything that is on their ballot. They, like us, are entitled to a secret ballot.
Morgan Carroll certainly played the game during the Democratic presidential caucuses. She "rode the fence" until it was clear Hillary Clinton was going to be the Democratic nominee, then she suddenly declared she had been for Hillary all along.
As it was, Coffman did not support Trump and yet Carroll and her allies insisted on pretending he did. People didn't buy it and I suspect it negatively impacted her credibility with voters.
Morgan Carroll ran a pitiful race. and Michael Bennet is the face of all that's wrong with the democratic party.
Bennet will find it very easy to work with Trump and support his proposals.
How Democrats Fucked Up, Part xxxx:
Union members are a small population thanks to many things, and the decades-long war against them by R's. But when you have a Democratic senator like Michael Bennet helping kill "card check" and helping implement TPP (despite his lies about that), why would a union member vote for another Democrat?
I know our reliable pollsters at CPols will analyze the numbers any number of ways to show how we were right, they were wrong, but that won't change the fact that Democrats fucked up the union vote this year, and probably many other years, by being afraid to support the very constituency that puts them in office.
As Ohio, then Michigan, then Pennsylvania, then Wisconsin turned red the other night, I remarked to a friend, "perhaps the Democrats should not have stabbed the unions in the back?"
If the best Democrats can do is elect limousine liberals like Michael Bennet, they don't stand a chance against Trump's populism for very long. Democrats need to start saying things and doing things to attract the working poor or they won't survive for long. I'm hoping that the crusade that Bernie Sanders started will continue and that the Democrats in Colorado get on board with his ideas.