Dem
47
GOP
53
Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong once tweeted that she supported "defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police." That worked in her very blue and very white Madison-based assembly district. She is now running for governor and it might not work so well statewide in the mother of all swing states. She is likely to get the Democratic nomination, so we will see how this flies in November.
However, this is not just an issue for her. It is an issue for the entire Democratic Party, because the Republicans make people like her, and statements like that, the face of the Democratic Party. This poisons the Democratic brand for many voters, especially in red states. So much so that Republican voters who know very well that Donald Trump repeatedly lies to them, breaks all his promises, is openly massively corrupt, and has committed many crimes including sexual assault, still prefer him to any Democrat. The Democratic brand is that toxic. Democratic leaders would love to get people like Hong to talk only about universal health care, pre-K education, taxing the rich, avoiding endless wars, etc., while leaving out the other (cultural) stuff like defunding the police, and having trans girls in girls sports. These remarks ruin it for the entire Party because the vast majority of voters are against these things. The Democratic brand is so poisoned in so many places that Democrats lose to deeply flawed Republicans, even when voters like what the Democrat is running on and hate what the Republican is running on.
Is there a solution? Maybe use stealth technology, sort of like the F-35. Run as a Democrat but don't tell anyone. We may see this in four Senate races this year. In four states, independent candidates who could be roughly described as "Democrat Lite" are on the general election ballot. They are Todd Achilles (Idaho), Seth Bodnar (Montana), Dan Osborn (Nebraska), and Brian Bengs (South Dakota). Could they win? It won't be easy and will depend on the mood of the country in November and local factors, but it will be easier for them than for anyone running with the poisonous (D) after their name. We think they have enough of a chance that we listed them on our Senate candidates page and will track their polling starting later this month.
But pulling this off requires the actual Democrat who got nominated to drop out, because low-information Democrats will instinctively vote for Yellow Dog (D) if given the chance. Only when there is no Democrat running do they scratch their heads and look for Plan B. In two of the states, Nebraska and Idaho, the actual Democrat formally dropped out. In Montana, where Bodnar has a decent chance against Kurt Alme (R) in a one-on-one race, actual Democrat Alani Bankhead—who has absolutely no chance in a three-way race and almost no chance in a two-way race—so far is sitting tight. Democrats are doing everything to get her to leave—and even then, there would be a problem because state law says her party has to replace her. Bankhead said: "I'm a person of faith. If a lightning bolt from God struck me and was like, 'Alani, get out of the race,' sure." She doesn't care that polls show Bodnar to be a far stronger candidate against Alme. Same problem in South Dakota, where Julian Beaudion (D) isn't going anywhere despite having no chance. However, the situation in Montana is more important because: (1) Alme is unknown, (2) he got on the ballot via a dirty trick and (3) Democrats do win statewide in Montana sometimes. Upsetting Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) won't be easy under any circumstances.
Pat Dennis, President of American Bridge, a Democratic oppo firm, said: "I am a professional partisan Democrat, and I have every incentive to be on the Democrat's side here. But ultimately, the priority is to take the Senate majority away from Republicans. In some states, that path is very difficult to impossible for a Democrat. In those cases, it is both strategically and morally correct to take the path that is most likely to achieve the goal we're going for." Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders' long-time adviser, agreed.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way, said: "If we fumble away a majority because these no-hope candidates are too vain to get out of the race, that'll be a political calamity. These people need to understand that they will become pariahs." Bankhead doesn't agree. She replied: "I'm not swayed by it because I'm not here for power and money, It's still the old, rich D.C. powerful political circles that are trying to keep more progressive candidates out of the fight so they can maintain the status quo."
Republicans understand all this perfectly well and are engaging in a little rodent reproduction, actively supporting the hapless Democrats in order to split the Democratic vote. This is why ranked-choice voting is so useful. It prevents this kind of gamesmanship. (V)