Former campaign manager for the 2008 Barack Obama campaign, David Plouffe said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans “will be stuck just trying to campaign on culture wars and kissing Donald Trump’s ample behind.”
While discussing the gubernatorial election between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, Plouffe said, “This election takes place with insanely high gas prices because of the Delta variant, people are still stuck having to deal with COVID. The economy is growing, but not as quickly as people would like. It’s not the greatest environment for Terry McAuliffe running in Virginia. To me, Youngkin has gotten away with, you know, the wink and the nod to the base, they’re okay with him, and he’s also to mainstream voters.”
Plouffe added, “To Democrats have to be real about that. Some of that is unique to Virginia, unique to New Jersey, this is a tough environment, but you still had erosion. Where did that happen with the electorate? I’m optimistic because the pandemic may be ending. The economy could be rolling. Democrats maybe could get something done in Washington, and the Republicans will be stuck just trying to campaign on culture wars and kissing Donald Trump’s ample behind, which I don’t think is a great strategy in a mid-year election. I think the Democrats can get on a stronger footing. But they’re heading into this election with serious headwinds. You have to be realistic that if McAuliffe wins tonight, which I hope he does by a point or two, you can’t say that everything is okay. It’s not. The Democrats lost House seats in 2020, winning Virginia by 10 points. To hold on to the House, you probably have to have a political environment next year where you’re at least winning by 10 points in states like Virginia if not more.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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