'Pretty ballsy': How McConnell and Trump blew away Senate Democrats politi.co/2qvMQOZ via @politico
President Donald Trump’s popularity and swaggering campaign presence was simply too much for even the best-run campaigns. Republicans avoided the kind of devastating gaffes that boosted McCaskill and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) in 2012.
As Democrats captured the House on Tuesday, their hopes of retaking the Senate in 2020 drifted further away. McCaskill, Donnelly and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) all lost, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) appeared on his way to suffering the same fate, pending a recount.
The party struggled mightily in Trump country and in states that were the cornerstones of the eight-year Democratic majority, from 2007 until 2015.
The suburbs may have gone for House Democrats, but the Senate map was so bad that sweeping Democratic enthusiasm did nothing to dent the Republican majority. In fact, its majority grew.
Trump’s personal investment in the Senate sealed the deal. He crisscrossed the country, hitting some states multiple times — all the while delivering sound bites that Republican hopefuls used to promote themselves and bash their opponents.
“We have always felt like we’re running with President Trump no matter what,” said Chris Hansen, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “We think he’s a huge asset, to be clear. These rallies are not by mistake."
In Indiana, for instance, Republicans knew they were staring at a long, nasty primary. GOP officials worried it would give Donnelly, one of the most vulnerable Dems up for reelection, an easy 1 1/2 yrs to prepare.
Sure enough, GOP Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer began tearing each other apart during the summer of 2017.
So the GOP set out to define Donnelly, a low-key presence during his first term in Washington.
So the GOP set out to define Donnelly, a low-key presence during his first term in Washington.
If there was one thing that distinguished Donnelly, it was his blue-collar appeal and attacks on outsourcing jobs. So when Donnelly was forced to sell stock in his brother's company following news reports that it produced products in Mexico, Republicans smelled opportunity.
John Ashbrook, a GOP strategist and former aide to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, settled on the Trump-like nickname “Mexico Joe.” It followed Donnelly everywhere: Republicans even hired a mariachi band to follow the Democrat to events. 😂
The move put Donnelly on the defensive as the GOP’s bloody primary played out. The low-key Donnelly ended up drawing a second unflattering sobriquet courtesy of Trump: "Sleepin’ Joe."
He lost by nearly 10 points on Tuesday night.
He lost by nearly 10 points on Tuesday night.
The intense focus on the most fertile states — Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Florida, and three GOP-controlled states, Tennessee, Arizona, and Nevada — wasn’t an accident.
