Three dozen GOP governors gathering in Austin, Texas, to discuss their prospects at the polls next year are completely spooked by the Democratic rout in Virginia. CNN writes:
"Just simply the intensity of the opposition -- I think that's what was reflected in the Virginia vote," said Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. "That should be a wake-up call to all of our supporters in the elections next year."
But the Republican governors haven't figured out what to do about an increasingly toxic national political environment that led to a surge in Democratic support in the Virginia suburbs last week. It carried Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam to a nine percentage point victory in what they'd expected to be a close race against Republican Ed Gillespie, the former RNC chairman and White House adviser to President George W. Bush.
Well, for one, you could stop demonizing people of color and supporting white supremacists and neo-Nazis screaming "blood and soil"—that might help because it has galvanized both voters of color and college-educated whites in the suburbs.
Fortunately for Democrats, their leader, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, doesn't have a clue.
Walker, the current chairman of the RGA, credited Democratic political groups with shifting the party's Obama-era focus on national races to the state level. He cited billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, labor unions and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder and backed by former President Barack Obama.
"My biggest fear is not who my opponent's going to be," Walker said. "It's how much money is going to come from this Obama-Holder group, and how much can I offset that?"
Will you help build the 2018 wave by contributing $3 to our House and Senate slates? Every penny counts!
Yeah, just keep grasping on to the idea that it was a top-down effort and not just a supremely energized base that despises Republicans for trying to strip them of healthcare access and pass a huge tax giveaway to the mega-rich and corporations already awash in cash.
And get this, Trump booster Rick Scott suddenly isn't feeling so sure about Grabby McGrabberson these days.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott leads a pro-Trump super PAC and has long encouraged Republicans to embrace the President. But he is also considering a run against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018 and he demurred Wednesday when asked whether Trump will be an asset or liability on the campaign trail.
"We'll see what happens in 2018," Scott said. [...] Asked if Trump could help other Republicans on the 2018 ballot in 2018, Scott said, "You'd have to ask them."
In 2018, 36 seats will be up for grabs, Republicans will be defending 26 of them, and they have no concept of how to stop the wave that’s about to sweep over them.