Dems flip two GOP-held seats in special elections

[mystery-ak]

Dems flip two GOP-held seats in special elections
By Reid Wilson - 02/27/18 08:41 PM EST

Democratic candidates on Tuesday won two special elections for state legislative seats in the Northeast, another indication for the party that a blue wave is forming ahead of November's midterm elections.
 
In New Hampshire, Laconia voters elected substance abuse counselor Philip Spagnuolo (D) over Republican Les Cartier, a former state employee, in a district President Trump carried by a 13-point margin in 2016.
 
 
The district opened up when the incumbent, state Rep. Donald Flanders (R), died in September.
 
In Connecticut, Democrat Philip Young defeated Republican Bill Cabral to win a Stratford-based district that has been in Republican hands for decades -- even though Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton carried a narrow plurality there in 2016.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/375943-dems-flip-two-gop-held-seats-in-special-elections

[txradioguy]

Not setting the stage for a very promising Republican mid term.

[dfwgator]

Not setting the stage for a very promising Republican mid term.

It's the Candidate, Stupid!  Maybe these Republicans sucked.

[txradioguy]

It's the Candidate, Stupid!  Maybe these Republicans sucked.

Keep telling yourself that.

[dfwgator]

Not setting the stage for a very promising Republican mid term.

Which might not be such a bad thing.    If you want to clean up the GOP, this might be what it takes.   And Trump isn't going to be Impeached,  the Democrats aren't that stupid.  If anything, it probably helps Trump's re-election chances if the Rats take Congress.  It worked out for Reagan.   Might actually simplify the situation, since Trump now only has to deal with the Democrats, instead of having to take on both Democrats and the GOPe.

[Concerned]

Not setting the stage for a very promising Republican mid term.

Yep.  39 state seats have now flipped from Republican to Democratic since Trump assumed office last year.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-flip-two-state-legislative-seats-in-new-hampshire-connecticut/article/2650242

[txradioguy]

Yep.  39 state seats have now flipped from Republican to Democratic since Trump assumed office last year.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-flip-two-state-legislative-seats-in-new-hampshire-connecticut/article/2650242

Pick off enough in these special elections...makes taking back the House and the Senate that much easier come November.

[Free Vulcan]

This doesn't worry me per se. It's easy to bum rush your people to a small local election and win.

What does worry me is liberal enthusiasm is high, while GOP enthusiasm is kind of mediocre right now because the DC Swamp Republicans keep doing nothing, and what little they are doing is mostly crap.

I still believe the ability to win is entirely within the GOP's hands, if they want it bad enough.

[dfwgator]

This doesn't worry me per se. It's easy to bum rush your people to a small local election and win.

What does worry me is liberal enthusiasm is high, while GOP enthusiasm is kind of mediocre right now because the DC Swamp Republicans keep doing nothing, and what little they are doing is mostly crap.

I still believe the ability to win is entirely within the GOP's hands, if they want it bad enough.

That's the way the pendulum goes.  I think after the GOP gets their ass kicked, it will motivate them.  Plus once the Democrats get Congress, they'll have ample opportunities to step in it, and fire up Republican voters again in time for 2020.   Better to take our lumps now, and clean out the deadwood in the GOP in the process.

[Frank Cannon]

Keep telling yourself that.

In every one of these cases, go into the local news in these elections. The Rats ran a younger more energetic candidate who was smart enough to moderate his tone. In this NH election loss, the GOP'er was for more gun control than the Rat for crying out loud. In other elections, local GOP officials even stated that their guy was a loser.

In local elections, candidates are everything. National politics doesn't mean squat.

[Free Vulcan]

In every one of these cases, go into the local news in these elections. The Rats ran a younger more energetic candidate who was smart enough to moderate his tone. In this NH election loss, the GOP'er was for more gun control than the Rat for crying out loud. In other elections, local GOP officials even stated that their guy was a loser.

In local elections, candidates are everything. National politics doesn't mean squat.

We seem to be running alot of crap bag candidates in these races, and candidates are indeed everything at the state level. It's no wonder we're getting beat.

[Formerly Once-Ler]

It's the Candidate, Stupid!  Maybe these Republicans sucked.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/democrats-flip-two-more-seats/index.html
Democrats flipped their 38th and 39th Republican-held state legislative seats since President Donald Trump took office Tuesday, with wins in New Hampshire and Connecticut state House races.

The GOP should rejoice the replacement of 39 crappy republicans.  It makes the GOP more pure./sarc

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

I looked it up.   39 state seats is 0.5% of the total number of state seats, or 0.9% of the number held by Republicans. 

Another way to view this is that 39 seats represents almost 8% of the seats that would need to flip to allow the Dems to tie for total number of state seats nationally. 

Of course, simply looking at the national totals vs. say majority rule by state is sort of like discussing the "popular vote", but I think these numbers add some perspective.

Note: the numbers above are based on a NET turnover of 39 seats from R to D.   I can not tell from the articles if they are reporting net, or only reporting on the ones that switched from R to D.