2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumRepublican Candidates' Strength In 2014 Midterm Elections May Hurt Presidential Hopes For 2016
Article by: NICHOLAS RICCARDI , Associated Press
Updated: June 15, 2014 - 12:16 PM
DENVER Republican strength in this year's House and Senate races could, strangely enough, hurt the party's presidential chances by stalling the changes in style and policy advocated after Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 presidential campaign.
GOP officials and strategists say it's hard to persuade party leaders to adjust the political recipe when they feel increasingly upbeat about adding Senate control to their solid House majority this fall. This optimism, numerous GOP strategists say, makes looking past the party's loss of the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections easy.
"It's very difficult to make an argument for change and modernization when you're winning," said Joel Sawyer, a former South Carolina GOP official who advises campaigns in several states. Citing the party's nationwide reliance on older white voters, Sawyer said, the GOP needs "to start modernizing now to become relevant to younger voters and nonwhite voters."
The party's dilemma was in sharp relief in a Denver public television studio here, where four candidates gathered for a Republican primary debate in the race to represent the deeply conservative, rural and exurban 4th Congressional District, which covers the eastern third of the state.
All the candidates said they oppose gay marriage, want to repeal President Barack Obama's health care plan and object to allowing people living in the country illegally to become citizens.
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http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/263209481.html
RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)This is what happens. The corporate BULLSHIT media sets up BULLSHIT memes and people start buying into it. This is NOT 2010. There is NO guarantee the R's will win the Senate at all. No one is even really paying attention now. The economy is doing much better. We have strong candidates up and down the tickets. We are looking damn good at the state level. Christ, can there please at least be a god damned campaign FIRST before all this BULLSHIT memeing. It's corporate media BULLSHIT propaganda. I will tell you in Maine we are looking VERY good to have some great outcomes. Dems just need to run good strong campaigns and GOTV hard. This is NOT 2010!!
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)Democrats are going to gain important Governorships in Florida and Pennsylvania as well as Maine.
Kansas and Wisconsin look promising. Add to that Grimes and Nunn are leading in their Senate races.
I have to question Nate Silver's integrity since hiring a climate change denier. Now Nate is giving weight to internal GOP polls but not Democratic ones. That is highly unfair.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Going to be more blacks, Latino, oriental and middle easterners than whites, especially tired old white men who hate. There will not be a Republican party unless they change many of their ways. They are playing to the FOX audience. Not all of the older white population is so hateful and not all of the
black, Latino, oriental and middle easterns are Democrats but I will bet on Democrats being the larger membership. In the meantime we have to vote and make sure like voters are voting. I may be the only one in my family to remain in the DNC but I have not found anything to celebrate in the GOP.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)in terms of being anti-immigration and wanting to yank the healthcare that people have as a result of the ACA.