Dems rebuild blue wall in Midwest
By Reid Wilson - 10/02/18 06:00 AM EDT
The Midwestern states that handed President Trump the White House two years ago now appear poised to deliver a sharply negative verdict against his party, thanks in no small part to voters’ dissatisfaction with the way Trump has handled his job.
Trump won Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016, two of the “blue wall†states that had voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992. He cruised to victory in Iowa and Ohio, swing states Barack Obama won twice. And he came within 45,000 votes of winning Minnesota, a state that last voted Republican when Richard Nixon was on the ballot.
His wins added to a rightward drift that has happened in the Midwest in recent years. Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature in all five of those states, and the party owns most of the U.S. House seats in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio.
“The Midwest used to be what was referred to as the blue wall, with working-class and middle-class communities†voting Democratic, said Jim Ananich, the Democratic minority leader in the Michigan state Senate. “Obviously, that fell apart in 2016.â€
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/409304-dems-rebuild-blue-wall-in-midwest