My Midterm Election recap thread, in no particular order. 1) Yes, this was a split decision. Some Dems might quibble with this (who cares, you won the House) but this is not like 2010, when Republicans gained 7 Senate seats even as they fell short of winning the chamber...
...2) First, the House: Dems won, & winning is really all that matters. But I wonder if, given the wave talk all cycle & Trump being Trump, if people realize how tough a map Dems had to overcome. They had to win historically Repub seats inclu seats that voted for Trump in 16...
...Additionally, the Ds ran some fantastic House candidates, & many won. Liberal, sure. But these are smart, ambitious, talented & likable pols w/ diverse backgrounds, & they'll stock the party's bench w/ future big-time leaders at at time when its sorely needed...
...3) And just before we get to what @realDonaldTrump did right, let's just be clear: A slew of GOP districts fell at a time when the economy is booming, including for the very voters that rejected POTUS & threw their GOP incumbents out. Now, the Senate...
@realDonaldTrump ...4) Trump is King of the Senate. With an assist from the Dems' horrible Kavanaugh strategy (yes, it was a disaster for Senate Dems,) Trump motivated MAGA Central to show up and vote in red states in a big way....
@realDonaldTrump ...Trump can take major credit for Repubs defeating top-tier, battle-tested, well-resourced Democratic incumbents. Remember, in mid September, Rs weren't even bothering to contest Tester, & they were worried about blowing Indiana. A bunch of other seats were possibly in play...
@realDonaldTrump ...But Trump got the MAGAns to vote for a bunch of Republicans they never heard of or didn't care about. I interviewed voters in the field about this. They told me their support for these establishmentarians was because Trump said he needed them. The rurals delivered...
@realDonaldTrump ...5) Where does this leave Congress? Well, Democrats have some power to exercise, but warning, a lot less than their committed base probably realizes or might accept (cc @SpeakerBoehner) But the results also mean that Rs in Congress are now a lot more Trumpy...
@realDonaldTrump @SpeakerBoehner ...6) The non-Trumpy Republicans in the House are getting pasted, & the expanded Republican majority in the Senate will owe it's existence to POTUS. That means he's going to get along more w/ his party in Congress, & have a lot more pull w/ them. Don't forget...
@realDonaldTrump @SpeakerBoehner ...Many Rs in current Congress outperformed Trump on 2016 ballot. Now you've new senators frm IN, MO, ND (other states too, prolly) that won because Trump - at least he & they believe that's case, while most Rs left in House are from redder, Trumpier seats. More tomorrow. -fin-
