The system works. Here’s one thing that can make everyone happy: election results are mostly unquestionable. This can have a lot to do with the good success of Republicans. But the results should prove to them that Trump’s myth of voter fraud is in fact a myth.
From there, things become more situational. Here’s what Republicans and Democrats should take from the results.
Compare those results to the California recall election in September, when Republicans rallied around fiery candidate Larry Elder, a radio host. They lost hard and handed over the victory to Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
Primary is the problem. Republicans in Virginia got Youngkin and not a Trump-friendly politician by making an end around their constituents. They took power from the GOP base and selected Youngkin by a non-traditional procedure of delegates going to driving locations in May.
People who vote can choose. Democracies do not reflect the will of the people; they reflect the will of the people who vote. In out-of-year elections like these, a different set of people emerges than in general elections when the White House and Congress are ready to grab. This is an even smaller subgroup participating in the primary elections outside the year.
The basic voters on the right and left are those types of voters who appear in pre-elections, and often there are also those who have the most extreme views that push American politicians into partisan corners.
“The platform was what Donald Trump woke up that day and thought about.”
Youngkin’s campaign, however, was built around issues of interest to people, Jennings said. This is the path to victory. “This campaign had a platform and schools, and crime and quality of life were at the core of that platform.”
Youngkin took a critical theory of race, something not currently taught in schools in Virginia, and turned it into a strong campaign issue, giving voters a sense that schools, many of which are physically closed during a pandemic, are not doing their job. It doesn’t matter that he probably won’t have the power to do much about it as governor.
The slogan “take away the police” has not aged well. Perhaps Democrats need to think long and hard about how to package efforts to reshape the U.S. police, especially in the suburbs.
Given the pain and suffering uncovered over the past year, police reform is clearly needed. But finding the answer will not be easy.
Also in Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s police assassination sparked a national protest movement, voters rejected a plan to abolish the city’s police department.
Jacob Frey, the target of the mayor who rejected a radical change of police, came to re-election after unofficial results.
Democrats may have to step away from Trump even though they are seeking responsibility for his coup attempt in Congress.
Voters are clearly above that, as McAuliffe built his campaign on portraying Youngkin as a mini-Trump rather than on issues like keeping schools open in Virginia.
On the contrary, if they do not accept his version, they will be wasting much of what will probably be their only years clinging to full power in Washington.
They, too, could follow Jennings ’advice and talk to voters about what they want, instead of continuing to talk about Trump.
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