Special Elections Results Mean ‘Republicans Are in Trouble — Vox Writer

Although the race was widely seen as a referendum on the new President, many observers think Republicans did a better job tying Ossoff to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

And after she predicted incorrectly that Democrats were poised to take back the House past year, some of Pelosi’s colleagues feel that this time around, she needs to deliver.

Pelosi said: “Usually they go after the most effective leaders because they want to diminish the opportunity that we have”. Other outside groups and Handel also focused on this theme. “CLF never deviated from the goal of defining Ossoff as a dishonest liberal”.

“This is the beginning of something much bigger than us”, Ossoff said in his concession speech.

Yes, while nearly all other Democrats and liberals are in a mournful mood, Yglesias is out there enthusiastically shaking his pom-poms with his laughable analysis in which he determines yet more bad news for Republicans. Lawmakers and strategists fretted about the party’s inchoate message, and some called the race a sign that Democrats should not bet too heavily on converting red-tinged suburbs to win a majority in the House. You can measure their disappointment by imagining the triumphalism we’d be hearing had Ossoff prevailed. You go back to OH, they’re not talking about Russian Federation. People in Ohio, Don, aren’t really talking about Russian Federation or Michael Flynn or Putin.

Unfortunately for the Hollywood Trump haters, they lost again.

Relative success for Democratic candidates in the Kansas and Montana special elections had raised expectations for Democrats in SC. “Time to move forward and win again”, tweeted Joe Cunningham, a Democrat who is running against Rep. Mark Sanford in SC. So it’s time for change.

The party still doesn’t know what it is or needs to be – and that can portend problems heading into next year’s midterms. Moulton is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He argued that when strategy doesn’t work, there has to be repercussions at the top. “I certainly understand the attention from the press around the country”. “I think I do that by my actions, and how I conduct myself going forward. That’s the most important part”. Even my colleague Andrew Prokop warns that Democrats shouldn’t “sugarcoat” the result, which is “bad news” for the party. “Nancy Pelosi is not the only reason that Ossoff lost”. But that increase was marginal from 19.4 percent to 19.6 percent, she added, and bears a reminder that women are still underrepresented in politics.

– GOP leaders on Capitol Hill are relieved that Handel’s win will avert a collective freak-out of the rank-and-file.

Why the relentless focus on the Democratic congresswoman from San Francisco? Ossoff did not campaign as the resistance candidate, though, despite that being projected onto him by the Democratic (and GOP) base. “Pelosi is the human embodiment of that”. She admitted that the loss was exactly that: “A loss is a loss”.

The Georgia race ends as the most expensive House campaign in US history, with a tab that may exceed $50 million. One of their ads even features the Bay Area and branded the two Democrats together, putting his photo alongside hers on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.

“If we think we’re going to win these elections because President Trump’s at 35 percent, I think in districts like mine and certainly Georgia and SC, it takes more than that”, said Rep. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

Trump, five months into his presidency, has had scant legislative success in enacting his agenda, with Democrats blocking or stalling many of his proposals.

Republican candidate Karen Handel votes in Georgia’s special election on June 20, 2017.

And for some, they point to questions about how their leaders, and Pelosi in particular, have fallen short in crafting an economic message that can counter Trump and yield election victories.

“Look, they demonized Nancy in 2010, they demonized her in 2006”.

Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey says, “A loss is a loss is a loss, and there’s no excuses”. Porter said Wednesday that he expects Democrats to field “strong candidates” for every statewide down ballot office – something the party hasn’t managed in recent years.

None of that suggests that Pelosi faces an immediate challenge to her leadership. Last cycle alone, she raised $141.5 million. The Times also noted that Pelosi was a regular feature in ads and on campaign fliers for the special election. Would the existence of such a message have won Ossoff this race? Rightly or wrongly, the president perceives her victory as a mandate. They expected to use an Ossoff win to show the voters pulling away from Trump but instead, it seems to indicate the opposite, according to the many reports today. “Pelosi is the gift that keeps on giving”.