Free Republic

Republicans are panicked after Democrat Conor Lamb closed in on a victory over Republican Rick Saccone in a Pennsylvania congressional district that went for President Donald Trump by 20 points in 2016. That Lamb could perform so well in a district that overwhelmingly supported Trump and had sent a Republican to Congress without much contention for the better part of two decades signaled major challenges for the party as it seeks to maintain its congressional majorities in this year's midterm elections. "It's really hard to see how anyone looks at the factors Republicans are facing at this time, and the...

Over the last month or so, predictions have abounded of a blue wave that would return control of the House to Democrats. Fueled in part by their harsh rhetoric on the tax reform bill and the included repeal of the ObamaCare mandate as legislation that will literally kill people, polling spiked sharply upward in generic Congressional ballot choices. Combined with some special-election results — perhaps most especially in Wisconsin this week — the picture looked bleak for the GOP. Now that the tax reform bill has begun to take effect, suddenly the gloom is dissipating. A new Marist poll shows...

Rural, Trump-friendly states make for a formidable map for Democrats Democrats ought to temper their optimism about the fight for the Senate this year. Yes, Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama’s special election gives their party a path to a Senate majority in November. But at this point, it remains an unlikely path, despite the official party line. Even assuming Senate seats in both Arizona and Nevada fall to Democrats — not a certainty, but more likely than not — Republicans can maintain control of the Senate by swiping a Democratic seat in West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota or one...

Besides losing one in Wisconsin, what are the other 4 seats did we win last night? I know libs are going gaga over this but 4 out 5 does not look like blue wave so far to me.

In the race to succeed Clinton-era sleazebag Terry McAuliffe as governor of Virginia, Democrat Ralph Northam managed to hold serve for his party in a state that has gone blue in the last three presidential elections, boasts two Democratic senators, and, well, has the ignominious distinction of somehow electing Clinton-era sleazebag Terry McAuliffe as governor four years ago.In other words, Democrats did what they were widely expected to do, and yet this week's news cycle is bound to be full of liberals crowing about how they’re about to sweep Congress in 2018 based on the fact that they managed to...

The day after his "Silent Majority" speech on Nov. 3, 1969, calling on Americans to stand with him for peace with honor in Vietnam, Richard Nixon's GOP captured the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey. By December, Nixon had reached 68 percent approval in the Gallup Poll, though, a year earlier, he had won but 43 percent of the vote. Contrast Nixon's numbers with President Trump's. Where Trump won 46 percent of the vote against Hillary Clinton, his approval rating is now nearly 10 points below that. He has less support today than on the day he was elected, or...

There is plenty of Republican hand-wringing and media gloating this morning over the dramatic loss of a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat in the deepest red Alabama yesterday — the first time since a conservative Democrat won in 24 years. It is mostly much ado about nothing. It had nothing to do with the very liberal Democrat running, Doug Jones, who was originally just a “D” set up as a lamb to the slaughter in a state Republicans typically win by 25 to 30 points. Trump won Alabama by 28 points. It had everything to do with Republican Roy Moore being...

“Who cares about a state election in Wisconsin?” you ask. Ah, well, Scott Walker does. He’s running for a third term as governor this year and the current he’s rowing against is getting stronger. A lot of data nerds, eyeing the trend in last night’s results in special elections in Wisconsin and elsewhere, care. And if something doesn’t happen to stop the Democrats’ momentum, we’re all going to care in November.Romney lost Wisconsin in 2012 but took Wisconsin’s 10th Senate District from Obama. Trump won the state narrowly in 2016 but crushed Hillary in the 10th. The last Republican...

A Wisconsin Democrat won a State Senate seat on Tuesday night that had been held by a Republican for 17 years, setting off a flurry of political predictions across a state that President Trump won. Republicans warned that it was a “wake up” call for their party as elections loom in the fall, while Democrats cheered the upset victory as a sign of hope that Wisconsin was back in contention. In the state’s first special election of 2018, Patty Schachtner, a Democrat and the St. Croix County medical examiner, beat Representative Adam Jarchow, a Republican member of the State Assembly,...

WASHINGTON ― Wisconsin Democrats scored a major upset victory Tuesday when they won a state Senate race in a district that Donald Trump easily carried in the 2016 presidential election. Top Wisconsin Republicans ― including House Speaker Paul Ryan ― acknowledged it was a blow to their party, and it could mean bad news for the GOP in the 2018 midterm elections. “I know this district fairly well. It’s not my district. It’s over in western Wisconsin. But typically, we’ve held this seat. And we lost this seat last night,” Ryan told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. “So yeah, I...

Wisconsin Democrats on Tuesday flipped a state Senate seat in a GOP-leaning district, prompting excitement among local party official Patty Schachtner (D) defeated state Rep. Adam Jarchow (R) in a special election to replace a senator who left for a job in Gov. Scott Walker's (R) administration, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Schachtner, the chief medical examiner in Wisconsin's St. Croix County, won in the state's 10th Senate district, which voted heavily for President Trump and Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the past two presidential elections. Despite Schachtner's win, Democrats remain in the minority in the state senate, according to...

Trump's day of reckoning ... The one thing that could dramatically diminish President Trump’s chances of avoiding impeachment and chalking up legislative wins is Democrats winning the House. And, thanks to series of recent developments, Trump knows this no longer just seems plausible, but probable. Show less Hill sources tell us that a House Democratic takeover is now likely. One strategist close to Republican leaders believes that a loss of the House is "baked in," and said top Republicans don't see a way to avoid it.

Trump's day of reckoning ... The one thing that could dramatically diminish President Trump’s chances of avoiding impeachment and chalking up legislative wins is Democrats winning the House. And, thanks to series of recent developments, Trump knows this no longer just seems plausible, but probable. Hill sources tell us that a House Democratic takeover is now likely. One strategist close to Republican leaders believes that a loss of the House is "baked in," and said top Republicans don't see a way to avoid it. It would take a flip of 24 seats for Dems to take over. The average loss...

Republican strategists have turned decidedly pessimistic about their prospects for the 2018 midterm elections. Prominent Republicans are now saying privately that Democrats are virtually certain to win control of the House of Representatives. As one senior Republican on Capitol Hill told ABC News, “If the election were held today, the House would be gone. Fortunately, the election is not today.” Another prominent Republican strategist working on the midterm elections went further, telling ABC News point-blank that Republicans will lose the House and that this prospect unlikely to change. “The only question is whether Democrats win narrowly by picking up 25...

The possibility that Democrats could win the Senate in 2018 seemed preposterous a year ago given President Trump's stunning victory and the basic math facing a party defending three times as many seats as Republicans in November's midterm elections. Not anymore. The debate has grown over Democrats' chances of capturing control of the agenda and holding power over Trump's nominations, including potential vacancies on the Supreme Court. The dispute pits the practitioners of big data against those who also scout candidates and measure broader political atmosphere to make their bets. --------------------- Both Silver and Cook believe the Democratic case for...