Democrats’ path to power in the age of Trump is harder than it seems
House Democrats plotting strategy at their annual retreat this week see themselves on the rebound. But they have a long, hard road ahead.
But the path to regaining political relevancy for House Democrats, who have 193 of the House’s 435 seats, remains an uphill climb, with the party’s support increasingly limited to the coasts and big cities.
“Democratic voters aren't where the party needs them right now,” said David Wasserman, who analyzes U.S. House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “You can look at the women's march, which drew gigantic crowds in D.C. Boston, San Francisco, L.A., Chicago. Guess what, Democrats already hold all the seats there.”
There are 23 Republicans who represent districts where 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton beat Trump, such as Darrell Issa in California and Pete Sessions in the Dallas suburbs. But the Democrats need to defend their own members in a dozen districts that favored Trump.
Democrats aren’t going to win control of the House without success in traditionally Republican wealthy suburbs such as the Orange County districts of Issa, Mimi Walters, Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher and the suburban Dallas district of Sessions, said Cook Political Report analyst Wasserman.
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article131538924.html#storylink=cpy
House Democrats plotting strategy at their annual retreat this week see themselves on the rebound. But they have a long, hard road ahead.
But the path to regaining political relevancy for House Democrats, who have 193 of the House’s 435 seats, remains an uphill climb, with the party’s support increasingly limited to the coasts and big cities.
“Democratic voters aren't where the party needs them right now,” said David Wasserman, who analyzes U.S. House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “You can look at the women's march, which drew gigantic crowds in D.C. Boston, San Francisco, L.A., Chicago. Guess what, Democrats already hold all the seats there.”
There are 23 Republicans who represent districts where 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton beat Trump, such as Darrell Issa in California and Pete Sessions in the Dallas suburbs. But the Democrats need to defend their own members in a dozen districts that favored Trump.
Democrats aren’t going to win control of the House without success in traditionally Republican wealthy suburbs such as the Orange County districts of Issa, Mimi Walters, Ed Royce and Dana Rohrabacher and the suburban Dallas district of Sessions, said Cook Political Report analyst Wasserman.
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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article131538924.html#storylink=cpy
