Free Republic

GOP Senate candidates across the country are battling to emerge as the pro-Trump candidate in contested primaries. President Trump’s approval rating might be stagnant nationally, but he still enjoys strong support with many of the GOP primary voters who will decide crucial Senate primaries ahead of the 2018 midterm election. So GOP candidates in states that Trump carried in November are beginning to hammer their opponents as unfaithful supporters of the president to gain an edge in their primaries. One clear example of this trend is in Indiana, where fellow Indiana Republican congressmen Luke Messer and Todd Rokita are poised...

Democrats have failed since Election Day in November to take any Republican-controlled seats in four special elections in blue states, despite hefty investment from the Democratic Party. . . . There were four elections that Democrats hoped to win to show their resistance to Trump could be translated into electoral victories. The elections were in Virginia, Minnesota, and, most recently, Connecticut–all states Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.

Just like the midterms one year ago, it was another awful night for Democrats. Republican Matt Bevin won a big upset in the Kentucky governors race. Democrats failed to pick up Virginias state Senate. Houstons Equal Rights Ordinance, designed to protect the rights of gay citizens and others, failed by a wide margin. Ohio rejected marijuana legalization by a two-to-one margin. Even in San Francisco, the sheriff who steadfastly defended the citys sanctuary city policy went down.

The Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association, Elisabeth Pearson, issued a statement Tuesday night crediting Donald Trump with creating the political conditions of ‘outsider’ popularity that allowed Republican Matt Bevin to win the Kentucky governor’s race over Democrat candidate Jack Conway. . . . ““Attorney General Jack Conway ran a strong campaign focused on the issues that matter to Kentuckians: good schools, good-paying jobs and economic opportunity,” Pearson said. “Unfortunately, he ran into the unexpected headwinds of Trump-mania, losing to an outsider candidate in the year of the outsider. While Jack Conway came up just short tonight, his presence...

Democrats stunned by Matt Bevin's victory in the race for Kentucky governor blamed "Trump-mania" for the Tea Party candidate's unlikely 53%-44% win over Democrat Jack Conway. "Attorney General Jack Conway ran a strong campaign focused on the issues that matter to Kentuckians: good schools, good-paying jobs and economic opportunity," said Elisabeth Pearson, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, in an official statement on the results. Pearson added: "Unfortunately, he ran into the unexpected headwinds of Trump-mania, losing to an outsider candidate in the year of the outsider. While Jack Conway came up just short tonight, his presence in this...