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GOP Fears Grow as Dems Notch Victories 04/09 06:01
The swings from red to blue added more data points to an increasingly clear
picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November midterms, when control
of the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and state governments around the country are up
for grabs.
MADISON, Wisc. (AP) -- The bluntest assessment of Republican failures during
this week's elections in Wisconsin came from one of their own.
"We got our butts kicked," said U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for
governor.
He was referring to Democratic victories in campaigns for the Wisconsin
Supreme Court and the mayor's office in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside
of Milwaukee. But some Republicans were also rattled by a Georgia special
election, where their candidate to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress
won by a much slimmer margin than the party enjoyed in the past.
Taken together, the swings from red to blue added more data points to an
increasingly clear picture of Democratic momentum heading into the November
midterms, when control of the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and state governments
around the country are up for grabs.
"In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere," said
Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant whose clients include Keisha Lance
Bottoms, a candidate for Georgia governor. "That is a significant canary in the
coal mine about what November of '26 is going to look like."
Some Republicans insisted there was no need to panic, and their fundraising
remains stronger than Democrats. Stephen Lawson, a Georgia strategist, said
"the sky is not falling."
But he also said his party is running behind where it has been in the past,
and Republicans need to be "looking at these results carefully."
'A red alarm for Republicans'
Special elections can be notoriously unreliable as political benchmarks, but
Democrats have consistently demonstrated surprising strength. They flipped a
Texas state Senate district. They won a Florida state House seat in a district
that includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
Then they gained ground on Tuesday in the race to replace Greene, who
resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with Trump.
Clay Fuller, the Republican candidate, prevailed by 12 points. Two years
ago, Greene won by 29 points and Trump carried the district by almost 37 points.
"That's a red alarm for Republicans," said Democratic strategist Meredith
Brasher.
Fuller defeated Shawn Harris, who plans to challenge him again in November.
Jackie Harling, the district's Republican chairwoman, said she believed that
Greene's resignation energized Democrats while her party is suffering from
"election fatigue."
"Marjorie Taylor Greene was like a freight train that you couldn't stop, and
when she pulled out, it gave Democrats hope and it gave them a shot at winning
something they believed was unwinnable," Harling said.
'Slightly bluer side of purple'
Georgia has key races this year, including an open contest for the
governor's office. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is trying to defend his seat as
well.
There's reason to think that simmering discontent could boomerang back on
Republicans just two years after Trump harnessed voters' anger with his
comeback presidential campaign.
In November, Democrats defeated two Republican incumbents in statewide races
for seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. Rising
electricity rates have been a fault line in recent campaigns, especially as
enormous data centers are built to power artificial intelligence.
But Georgia Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey is trying to maintain
modest expectations.
"We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of
purple," he said. "We're not going to overnight turn into Colorado."
'A very clear sign of momentum'
Wisconsin holds statewide elections for supreme court seats, and liberals
expanded their majority with a 20-point blowout victory on Tuesday.
Democrats saw gains in red, blue and purple counties when compared to
another judicial race last year, which was also won by the liberal candidate.
"This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats
in the fall," said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker.
The state has its own open race for governor this year, and Democrats are
hoping to take control of the state legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep.
Derrick Van Orden.
"It's time for us to put this thing in overdrive," said Mandela Barnes, a
Democratic former lieutenant governor who is running for governor.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, another Democratic candidate for
governor, said it's clear that "people are really upset with the Republican
Party and their brand right now."
"But that doesn't mean that they're automatically going to come over to the
Democrats," Crowley said. "And that's why we have to continue to focus on the
issues and speak to the values of all the voters here in the state of
Wisconsin."
'A lot of anxiety'
Tiffany, the Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, cautioned
against reading too much into Tuesday's results.
He said "every election is unique," and he wasn't making any changes to his
campaign. He said the key to winning will be to "paint that clear contrast of
how we are going to help everyday Wisconsinites."
But Democrats seemed to be making inroads, including in Waukesha. The city
is located outside of Milwaukee in the Republican stronghold of Waukesha County.
Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city's Common Council,
defeated Republican Scott Allen, one of the most conservative members of the
state Assembly.
She said Trump came up "a lot" when she was campaigning, although she thinks
her victory came down to local issues and how the state legislature wasn't
addressing them.
"There's so much uncertainty at the national level," Halvensleben said. "I
think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way
down to the local level."
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