Democrats have won two governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as secured the New York City mayorship once again. Phil Murphy, from New Jersey, and Ralph Northam, from Virginia, each had strong competition from Republican candidates, but ultimately won the elections. In addition to a new governor, Virginians have historically elected Democrat Danica Roem as the first openly transgender elected official. With a Republican-dominated legislature, these victories are more important than ever to the Democratic Party.
After Trump's victory, there has been more of a push from Democrats to acquire as many elected positions as possible, aiming to push back against the majority-Republican and conservative legislature that currently holds the house and the senate. These wins are important for Democrats, but do you think they are enough to move the country away from the path it is currently on? What else should Democrats do if they want to try and secure a Democratic majority? How can individual people help?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/us/politics/virginia-election-democrats.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/11/07/winners-and-losers-from-election-day-2017/?utm_term=.019edae7d896
21 comments:
Honestly, I think the country getting on this path at all was already enough to move the country away from continuing down that path. However, even with Democrats in elected positions, a "Republican" president still has enough influence to establish a political gridlock if he felt so inclined in the face of Democrat action. Obviously it wouldn't hurt for Democrats to continue their acquisition of elected positions, but at least for now it's still too early to say that there will be another Democrat party era or something like that. If the people did want that to happen, obviously the best way to do that is vote. But given recent voter turnouts, *especially* for non-presidential elections, that's going to take a lot of badgering from parties to achieve.
Although the current state of the US is more Republican, I don't believe this necessarily means that the US is on a path to becoming more Republican. As seen by the previous presidential elections, the popular votes have been won by Democrats. If Democrats want to secure a majority, they need to find a way to get more individuals to vote, as many who voted for Obama didn't vote for Hillary this past election. If their party can get those same people to vote for the next elections and convince more previous independents or nonvoters to vote for their side, then they definitely have opportunity to regain control in government.
I agree with the point made by Justin, highlighting how there is still plenty of Democrats, because even though we have a Republican president, we had a majority of people vote for a Democratic candidate. Moreover, the Republican party is becoming more polarized and farther right winged, which goes against a lot of ethnic minorities. As our country's demographics change, ethnic minorities will increase until America has a while plurality, and not a white majority. It will be ever more important then for the Republican party to adapt, because then they won't be able to gain enough votes from these groups and will lose elections. That being said, I don't see a couple elections as a major turning point for the Democratic party. It is a step for them, but only time will tell if it is part of a larger trend, or simply a fluke.
I agree that this win for Democrats is a great step forward towards gaining more power from the Republicans, but unfortunately these small roles in government aren't much comparison to the Republican congress and our Republican president. To move forward, I think Democrats need to continue to lobby and advocate for themselves in all states and we really need to find a strong good candidate for the next presidential election. I think we can also bet on hopefully the slight destruction of the Republican party due to Trump's presidency and their lack of support of Trump.
It is definitely a great step forward to see that Democrats are beginning to win back their votes and positions of power in government. Although these positions are small, they are in the right step forward and anything helps during the term of a crazy Republican president. Democrats should now begin focusing on the next year, 2018 midterm election since all of the House of Republicans will be up for reelection as well as a third of the Senate. If the Democrats win a majority of seats in the House of Republicans during next year's election, that will greatly assist the political situation against Trump's crazy demands.
I think these wins for the Democrats are definitely a step in the right direction for this country. These elections will give democrats hope and affirm that they can make a change if they participate in elections and are vocal about what they believe in. Every victory, no matter how small, is a step towards a better path. If people want to help, they should vote more whenever they can and voice their qualms. However, I do agree with Gabriel and think that while these elections are good victories, much more needs to be done to make a real effective change.
I believe that as time passes and as long as approval rates of TRump's presidency are down, that this is the first step towards re-establishing a Democratic controlled government. It is anyways just a short matter of time before Trump is impeached. What I think we have to encourage is voter participation. We want to people's voices to be heard so we can be able to make a difference.
I think after electing Trump, there has been a lot of backlash towards the republican party. Also, with the recent mass shootings and protests, there is an obvious desire for more stability. Electing these democrats will show that there is hope for the future of the country. I think it'll make people more aware that their vote counts, and that people should do their civic duty and vote. Especially since Virginia is on the east coast, it might influence the swing east coast states.
While there is a Republican majority in Congress and a Republican executive branch, I don’t think that America is going towards a “Republican path,” mostly because so far, Republicans have failed to pass notable conservative reforms in Congress. However, I think that more flipped seats in the House (or Senate) would make it virtually impossible for Republicans to pass any of their goal reforms (which clearly, has been difficult enough even with a Republican majority). Democrats should be particularly active in states such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina, which have in the past gone blue (North Carolina’s electoral votes went to Obama in 2008 and Pennsylvania has been blue multiple times in the past) and are relatively big states. Winning more seats from these states is neither impossible (both narrowly went to Trump in 2016) or unheard of.
I agree with many other commenters in that the voters are getting turned off from the GOP and that, fingers crossed, these small victories could be indicative for the political tide turn in favor of the Democrats. This potential sway in the political sentiments of Americans could be due to the Republicans' general ineptitude as of late. After branding themselves as the opposition party, the party of "no," during Obama's terms, the Republicans, now that they control all three branches of government, have not had an impressive performance. It's not as if the Republicans have accomplished since Trump's inauguration, but they have not really had a surplus of legislative home runs. They could not repeal and replace Obamacare, something they'd promised to do practically since the inception of Obamacare. Trump's approval rating is abysmal, and congress's approval rating is less than half of Trump's. If this trend continues, the Democrats may be able to achieve substantial gains in 2018.
I think this is a step away from the current path we are on but I don’t think it is a turning point. As a result of the Republicans now controlling the executive branch it is expected that the Democrats now want to do what they can to gain some control in the legislative branch. To do that there needs to be more people interested and wanting to vote in the non-presidential elections. I think that with more wins for the Democrats there could be a shift but that might depend on how Trump’s presidency affects independents opinions of the Republican Party.
If the country moves away from the path it is currently on, it won't be because of these minor election wins. It will be because of a huge sway in the opinions of the majority, and/or a huge shift in power in America. While these two wins may be a step in the right direction for the Democratic party, winning two gubernatorial elections in predominantly Democratic states can hardly be considered a "big win", even considering the level of success that the Democratic party has experienced over the last year or so.
To try and secure a majority, I believe that the Democratic party would need to change their methods. Many have steered away from the party in recent history, and I believe that this is due to the lack of genuineness in the party. This party used to be considered the party of the middle class, but for whatever reason, it seems that the middle class has turned away from it. I do not have an explicit solution to their problem, but considering the circumstances, I think that change is necessary for this party. And with the current administration, I think a Democratic majority is definitely possible.
As the US is currently ruled by Republicans, these few elected officials will not be enough to shift the US from the path it is on at the moment. Although, this Republican path has not been able to pass many reform, which is displays that the democrats do have some sort of chance to establish power in all of this. In order for the democrats to have a type of majority, they will need to continue helping democratic candidates. If democrats continue to be elected, they could have significant power in the government.
Although this is a huge move by the democrats, I do not believe it is enough to alter the current path we are on. Currently, the Republicans are dominating the government, and it would take a lot more than two elected governors. In addition, even if the course is changed, it is not due to these elections. It is due to the majority of the public's opinion. Two new elected governors is simply not enough to change anything, even though it is a step-up by the Democrats.
While the democrats taking two governor seats is a big win for the party, I think the biggest impact of this election is the major gains for democrats in state legislatures. If democrats continue to win seats in conservative state legislatures, then they may have control of many state legislatures in 2020 when the districts are redrawn. This would give the party the ability to hopefully introduce legislation that assigns non-partisan contractors to redraw the districts. Potentially this legislation could also allow the democrats to gain a majority in congress.
I don’t believe the country was on a path to become republican as the majority of people in America voted democratic in the 2016 presidential election. This November election was huge as it puts more democrats in power but also sends a message. This shows a push back from the Democrats and is promising for the future as this wasn’t expected from the country. Though the positions are small, they have the power to affect many people as politics is a slippery slope.
After this recent election, the Republicans are dominating and tend to be the majority. I think that this was a step in the right direction for the Democrats, however, it was not big enough to change, or alter the current state. This was important as the Democrats are showing their determination and desire to fight for their place, however, they need to do more if they want to secure their majority status. I think that they should continue with this path; the more position assigned to Democrats, the more significant this will be. Also, I think they need to continue advocating for themselves in other states and focus on finding a solid Democratic candidate for the next election.
It's good to have balance in the government. Having a strong Republican presence in both houses of Congress and in the Presidency is pretty off kilter. A democratic majority in the Senate could balance things out. An it seems like with the fracturing of the Republican party and the scandal Roy Moore, the Democrats are well on their way to claiming that majority.
I agree with Max. I think that the government needs to be balanced. Too much of one party could be really bad for the country so it's a good thing that the Senate has a democratic majority.
This isn't surprising to me just because we've seen it before. In the 2010 mid-term election republican gained the majority in the house of representatives and the senate in 2014 and continues to maintain that majority. Now, with a republican president and republican majority congress, we are seeing push back from democrats as they try to get the majority in congress. I think there is too much of an emphasis placed on political parties and staying loyal to one's party that distracts from (what should be) the goal of government: to make policies that would be beneficial to both sides of the political spectrum
I think the country is continuing its cycle of liberal reform followed by conservative backlash. The most obvious example of that cycle would be the election of Trump following Obama. Once again, with Trump's recent approval ratings at only 38%, many are once again hungry for change and thus leaning towards the Democrats, which explains why the Democrats are making a comeback in Congress. The Democrats are definitely taking a step in the right direction, and the election of transgender woman Danica Roem (also note that Trump is a big opponent of trans rights so this is quite a slap to his face) indicates that the left wing is already gaining momentum, perhaps foreshadowing more election victories in both Congress and the next presidential election.
Post a Comment