Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“This was an electroshock therapy for Democrats to stop infighting and start delivering results for a very impatient electorate. In the war between Democratic progressives and Democratic moderates, the Republicans won.”
— Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Youngkin Proved the GOP Doesn’t Need Trump
Rich Lowry: “Youngkin, who at the end of the day is a Glenn Youngkin Republican, exceeded Trump’s 2020 margins in the reddest parts of Virginia. In Southside Virginia, Trump won by 22 points; Youngkin won by 36. In Southwest Virginia, Trump won by 45; Youngkin by 53. In the Shenandoah Valley, Trump won by 22; Youngkin by 33. In the Upper Tidewater, Trump won by 16; Youngkin by 28.”
“The danger to Trump’s standing in the GOP isn’t that he’ll be flatly repudiated or ever stop being popular, rather that he’s no longer viewed as central or essential as he has been over the last five years.”
“Worried that he’s not getting enough credit for Virginia, Trump said on Wednesday that there’s no way Youngkin would have won without MAGA voters. True enough. Youngkin needed to get them out and did, without Trump campaigning for him and barely mentioning his name. Therein lies a tale.”
What the 2021 Swing to Republicans Could Mean
David Wasserman calculates that Republican candidates for New Jersey State Senate outperformed the 2020 Biden/Trump results in the districts by a median 10.8 points.
In races for Virginia’s House of Delegates, the GOP beat the 2020 by a median 12.4 points.
“If Republicans were to outperform the 2020 Biden/Trump margin by 10.8 points (New Jersey) in all 435 House seats in 2022, they would pick up 44 House seats for a 257R-178D majority.”
“If they were to outperform by 12.3 points (Virginia), they would pick up a mammoth 51 seats for a 261R-174D split — and that’s not even factoring redistricting, which could help boost GOP fortunes even more.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“This is 2009 all over again. The only benefit they have now over 2009 is knowing just how bad it can get.”
— Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), quoted by Politico, comparing the political environment to when Democrats lost more than 60 House seats in 2010.
Campaign Fueled by Donuts
Of the $153 Edward Durr (R) spent on his campaign to upset New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), nearly half went to Dunkin’ Donuts, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
Quote of the Day
“Nobody elected him to be FDR, they elected him to be normal and stop the chaos.”
— Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), quoted by the New York Times, on President Biden.
Passing Biden Agenda May Not Matter for 2022
“Democrats announced Wednesday that they would plow straight ahead on President Biden’s roughly $3 trillion agenda, arguing that the political trouncing their party suffered Tuesday across the nation mandated action,” the Washington Post reports.
“It was a predictable reaction, exactly in line with other recent congressional majorities after shellackings in Virginia and New Jersey’s oddly timed state elections. If history is any guide, Democrats will pass this massive agenda in the weeks or months ahead — and it will have little to no impact on their political standing in next year’s midterm elections.”
House Democrats Suddenly Agree on Passing Both Bills
Playbook: “For now, the GOP sweep in Virginia and Dems’ razor-thin victory in New Jersey seem to have done what months of negotiations on the Hill could not: force moderates and progressives into line on passing both bills.”
“There’s a sense among Dems that if they just stop the bickering and get something done, they might be able to reverse what looks to be a devastating trajectory for the party heading into the midterms. Underscoring this feeling, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) retweeted moderate leader Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) saying that the message from the election was ‘loud and clear’: Democrats need to pass both bills ASAP. Not a pairing we see every day.”
New York Times: “Virtually all Democrats came away from the sweeping defeats in Virginia and a narrow escape for New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, agreeing that the imperative now was to pass both bills as quickly as possible to prove their party could govern.”
Republicans Hope to Make Schools Focus In 2022
“Hoping to retake both houses of Congress in elections a year from now, Republicans plan to follow a strategy Glenn Youngkin used to win Virginia’s governor’s race, making schools the front line in U.S. culture wars,” Reuters reports.
Carper Supports Nixing Filibuster for Voting Rights
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) announced on Thursday that he supports nixing the filibuster on voting rights legislation, marking the latest Senate Democrat to back changing the Senate’s rules, The Hill reports.
Said Carper: “I do not come to this decision lightly, but it has become clear to me that if the filibuster is standing in the way of protecting our democracy then the filibuster isn’t working for our democracy.”
Trump to Hold Fundraiser for Murkowski Challenger
“Kelly Tshibaka, who is running for the Alaska U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Republican Lisa Murkowski, announced plans Wednesday for a fundraiser hosted by former President Donald Trump,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.
Carville Blames ‘Stupid Wokeness’ for Losses
James Carville told PBS Newshour that he blamed his party’s recent losses and weak performance in state elections on “stupid wokeness.”
Said Carville: “What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this ‘defund the police’ lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln’s name off of schools. I mean that — people see that.”
He added: “It’s just really — has a suppressive effect all across the country on Democrats. Some of these people need to go to a ‘woke’ detox center or something. They’re expressing a language that people just don’t use, and there’s backlash and a frustration at that.”
Did Youngkin Provide a Template for Republicans?
“Since he burst onto the national political scene in 2015, Donald Trump has strong-armed one Republican after another into submission. But in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin did something new: He managed to keep the former president at a politically safe remove without alienating him or his allies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Youngkin’s success in the Virginia governor’s race speaks not only to his own deft handling of his party’s volatile and unpredictable standard-bearer but also to Mr. Trump’s apparent willingness to place himself on the sidelines during a campaign that received wall-to-wall coverage on cable news.”
“What is not known is whether Mr. Youngkin’s formula is repeatable elsewhere, particularly in the 2022 midterm elections.”
Washington Post: Youngkin became Virginia governor by wooing both moderates and Trump supporters. So how Trumpy is he?
Pandemic Has Killed 750,000 In U.S.
Washington Post: “The nation Wednesday reached another haunting milestone: 750,000 Americans killed by Covid.”
Biden Dismisses Payments to Migrant Families
“President Biden said the U.S. wasn’t going to pay immigrant families who were separated at the Mexico border during the Trump administration, throwing into doubt settlements the Justice Department has been negotiating to resolve legal claims by the families,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Biden: “That’s not going to happen.”
Pelosi Steps on the Gas
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi is slamming her foot on the gas pedal, looking to pass both the Build Back Better Act and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill this week,” Punchbowl News reports.
“In doing so, Pelosi is asking her House Democratic Caucus to vote for a bill with an uncertain future in order to jumpstart the long-delayed reconciliation process.”
“She’s also attempting to brush aside a whole host of concerns from within the caucus.”
Biden Says Virginia Race Wasn’t Blowback Against Him
“President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Democrats’ setbacks in Tuesday’s elections underscore that the party needs to ‘produce for the American people,’ but he pushed back against the notion that the off-year election results were a repudiation of his presidency,” the AP reports.
“Biden suggested that his inability to get Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure deal and a $1.75 trillion package of social and climate programs ahead of the voting didn’t make a difference.”
