How would you react if someone told you that in a near future election:
Michigan Wisconsin and Pennsylvania would vote for the Republican candidate while the Republican candidate lost the national popular vote?
Missouri would vote 19 points for the Republican candidate?
Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada would be states that voted for the Democratic candidate while losing the electoral college.
Texas and Ohio would vote roughly the same way?
We are absolutely more polarized than in the past. A candidate winning the popular vote by Reagan's margin would not win 49 states today. But things can and do change. Candidates and circumstances do matter.
Which is why I am not ready to say Trump is DOA in 2020 or that the Democrats will take the house in 2018 or that all Trump state Democrats are DOA in 2018. Oh, and I won't say that the rust belt is gone for the Democrats either. Especially given the circumstances of this election victory. Ironically, 2020 could resemble 2012 quite a bit. Except I would think Georgia, North Carolina and even Arizona may all go Democratic if it is a DEM wave year.
I would have thought the ticket was like Warner/Richardson for Dems and the GOP had an popular Ohio governor on top of the ticket / a Florida senator at bottom of ticket
