Election 2018 Open Thread v2 - Mia, Mimi, Gil, and T.J.

[libertpaulian]

5. Republicans held their own on the State level

The Republicans had strong results holding state legislative chambers. After twenty years, they will get to fully stack the Florida Supreme Court. They fully control that state, as well as Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and about 20 other states. Every single large swing state has a fully Republican legislature. If they hold onto these legislatures in 2020 they will once again control gerrymandering. As such, the Democrats will not be able to win without racking up big popular vote margins again and again, which will be a hard feat. Further, the election affirmed major Republican strength in the Electoral College, which is a good sign for Trump's re-election. Despite their loss, Republicans won the statewide elections in Florida, Iowa, and the Ohio Governorship, and came close in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Disagree on major GOP strength in the EC. Sure, they won FL and the OH Gov, but they need to hold PA/MI/WI. MI/PA were not kind to the GOP, and WI was close, as it often is. As for Iowa, true, Reynolds won, but the GOP lost two congressional seats and were relatively close to losing King’s seat. And Michigan wasn’t close at all, Whitmer won by 8.5%. Of course, we have no clue who the Dem presidential nominee is and that won’t be happening for a while.

Oh, and don’t forget about Arizona. I still think it tilts GOP, but with the right candidate and huge turnout, it could flip.

Democrats only gained 1 seat in Wisconsin assembly. Massive failure and shows the state is trending r. Gerrymandering isn't a full excuse there.

Um, no.  Gerrymandering is clearly an issue there.  It's not like Wisconsin is an Alabama or a Wyoming.  Dems are clearly still viable there, as evidenced by Evers' win and the victories of the row officers.  It's also on the Dems' "red-to-blue" state list in 2020.

[libertpaulian]

One thing's for sure: The GOP got absolutely murdered in the West this cycle.