Posted on 11/16/2025 6:17:28 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Political scientists at Harvard said Democratic victories in last week’s off-cycle elections were a sign of powerful backlash to Donald Trump’s presidency, but that Democrats could not afford to rest on their laurels ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Tuesday’s elections added new fuel to debates over whether Democrats could best strengthen their coalition by shifting to the center or embracing their party’s left wing.
Moderates Sherrill and Spanberger wielded their congressional experience and military and intelligence backgrounds to win governor’s seats. But Mamdani secured the New York City mayor’s office after running an unapologetically progressive campaign.
Some Harvard faculty said Sherrill, Spanberger, and Mamdani likely succeeded by running on platforms that emphasized voters’ day-to-day concerns and maintaining strong ground games.
Harvard Kennedy School professor Stephen Goldsmith, who previously served as deputy mayor of New York City and mayor of Indianapolis, said candidates’ focus on quality of life issues made “a really big difference.”
“People care about those issues,” Goldsmith said. “City and state residents expect from their governors and mayors pragmatic execution of the basic foundation of government. All three of these — Virginia, New Jersey and New York — were individuals who were committed to improving the quality of life.”
McKenna wrote that the Mamdani campaign was particularly effective at mobilizing membership-based groups to win back constituencies that had swung to the right in the 2024 elections.
She pointed to an exit poll by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Asian American Federation that suggested 20 percent of Mamdani’s voters had backed Trump in 2024.
Levitsky said last week’s elections were the strongest sign so far that Democrats were able to rebound from their across-the-board loss to Trump and his party in 2024.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecrimson.com ...
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Was it really that or was it all the “free stuff” the Demoncrats promised? Let’s see how successful those new mayors will be six months for now but I’m betting all their promises wil have faltered and they will just be blaming Republicans for all their failures.
Free Candy won.
They still rounding up Jews at Haavaad?
......last week’s elections were the strongest sign so far that Democrats were able
to rebound from their across-the-board loss to Trump and his party in 2024........
Trump found out the hard way that “bringing peace” to
Netanyahu’s bomb-happy Israel is NOT a winning election issue.
The lingering question remains.....”did Netanyahu have a “reason” to
keep Trump tied up in Israel while Democrats scored bigtime at home?
Other than stop and hate Trump, what are their messages?
A big problem the Rats have is that if they actually propose some good for the USA items, Trump would probably advocate it, and they can’t be seen to be working with Trump.
What is the percentage of people who actually got off their butts and voted?
In these elections it’s a question of who is more motivated.
Our biggest problem is that our side cannot get good people to run for office.
Don’t forget the TDS-afflicted media that willingly amplified those messages. Local news outlets in the Virginia Tidewater area breathlessly hyped Spamberger’s election rallies while ignoring Winsome Sears.
Cost of living and anti-corporatism.
The experts also said Harris was going to win.
What? Trump supporters were supposed to vote for cuomo? A disgraced democrat
Or Sliwa? Who professed hatred for Trump
Or winsome sears who dislikes Trump, didn’t ask him to help her campaign
Or the New Jersey Republican who dislikes Trump, didn’t ask him to help her campaign
Harvard professor- pshaw
Re midterms 2026: The 2022 was not good for GOP.
Re presidency 2028: What is the GOP’s message when Trump is not on the ballot?
What is the GOP’s message when Trump is not on the ballot?
“We suck less!”
You mean the party that managed to ramp inflation up to 9% will lecture folk now on affordability? Sounds about right.
America First Forever™️
If prices don’t go down in time. Yes.
“Moderates Sherrill and Spanberger wielded their congressional experience and military and intelligence backgrounds to win governor’s seats.”
Yeah right.
Nice Jew hatred you have there, as well as total nonsense.
Trump stayed out of blue states because they had overwhelming democrat and RINO citizenship. The democrats went crazy when he barely sneezed in the direction of supporting anyone.
When will we learn?
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