Democrats this week pledged to remove former President Donald Trump from the focus of the 2022 midterm election after Republicans handily defeated Virginia Democrats in November.
Upon Republicans soundly drubbing Democrats in multiple Virginia state elections, reclaiming the governorship and retaking the House of Delegates, many Democrats have realized that simply campaigning against Trump without speaking to the issues concerning the electorate is a faulty 2022 strategy.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D) of North Carolina, who will take the helm of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) on Saturday, warned that Democrats must not embody what is known as “Trump derangement syndrome.”
“I just don’t think [Trump] needs to be the central focus,” Cooper admitted to those present at the DGA annual winter meeting.
“What you can do is continue to focus on your issues and [decide] if it’s worth reminding people how this candidate got elected, and what’s coming,” he added. “Because our democracy is really at stake now.”
As the chairman of the DGA, Cooper is in charge of defeating Republicans in 36 gubernatorial races across the nation. And with Trump endorsing ten candidates in 20 of the seats Republicans are defending, it is important Democrats strike the right tone to avoid another November drubbing.
Democrats changing their focus to issues impacting Americans remains to be seen. But polling indicates inflation, the coronavirus, crime, and immigration are voters’ top concerns.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced inflation reached a 40-year high in November. The White House ignored the severity of inflation leading up to the Friday report as “transitory,” suggesting the price increases on household items, energy, and food would quickly go away. Friday’s report indicated inflation is only becoming worse, however.
The coronavirus is also a top concern for voters. Democrats in 2020 campaigned on shutting down the virus, but data revealed more Americans have died from the virus under President Biden’s first 11 months in office than under Donald Trump in 2020, despite vaccine availability.
Crime and illegal immigration, two issues often intertwined, are also on the rise around the country. For instance, crime reportedly cost Colorado $27 billion last year. Over the last ten years, Colorado’s crime rate has jumped 28 percent.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø.
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