[h=1]With the Democrats on a roll it's time for Donald Trump to remember the lessons of his 2016 win[/h][FONT="]
[*=left]ROB CRILLY
[FONT="]8 AUGUST 2018 • 9:12PM[/FONT]
[h=1]With the Democrats on a roll it's time for Donald Trump to remember the lessons of his 2016 win[/h][FONT="]
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[FONT="][FONT="]G[/FONT]iven enough time and chances even Democrats can get it right. A slew of national results in primaries and special elections on Tuesday suggest the Republican hold on Congress is slipping as we head towards November’s high stakes midterms.
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[FONT="]Thus far, confusion, complacency and infighting has marked the Left’s response to Donald Trump’s time in office, as a befuddled opposition has struggled to cope with his populist rise from the Right. Yet Tuesday brought signs that a coherent response is emerging, the sort that could do real damage to Mr Trump’s hold on power. But while Democrats will take heart from the results, so too thoughtful Republicans should be able to tease out a strategy to keep control of the House of Representatives and head off efforts to impeach the President.
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[FONT="]For Democrats, the biggest plus is the result in Ohio's 12th Congressional District, where Democrat Danny O'Connor has held the Republican favourite Troy Balderson to a margin of less than one percentage point. It could still be days before we have a winner. But the Democrat’s showing is impressive in a state that went to Trump by 11 points in 2016 and which has returned a Republican for three decades.
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[FONT="]Thus far, confusion, complacency and infighting has marked the Left’s response to Donald Trump’s time in office, as a befuddled opposition has struggled to cope with his populist rise from the Right. Yet Tuesday brought signs that a coherent response is emerging, the sort that could do real damage to Mr Trump’s hold on power. But while Democrats will take heart from the results, so too thoughtful Republicans should be able to tease out a strategy to keep control of the House of Representatives and head off efforts to impeach the President.
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[FONT="]For Democrats, the biggest plus is the result in Ohio's 12th Congressional District, where Democrat Danny O'Connor has held the Republican favourite Troy Balderson to a margin of less than one percentage point. It could still be days before we have a winner. But the Democrat’s showing is impressive in a state that went to Trump by 11 points in 2016 and which has returned a Republican for three decades.
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[FONT="]If the Democrats’ goal is to win 23 seats to swing the House, then this kind of result suggests they have a chance in 60-odd seats. This is "blue wave" territory".
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[FONT="]Primary results around the country suggest the party is doing the right thing in picking centrist candidates that can win back disgruntled voters . Although the entryist Bernie Sanders socialist wing may be making the headlines – pushing to disband the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, legalise recreational marijuana and introduce the sort of universal health system that is anathema to most Americans – they fared badly on Tuesday.
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[FONT="]Primary results around the country suggest the party is doing the right thing in picking centrist candidates that can win back disgruntled voters . Although the entryist Bernie Sanders socialist wing may be making the headlines – pushing to disband the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, legalise recreational marijuana and introduce the sort of universal health system that is anathema to most Americans – they fared badly on Tuesday.
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[FONT="]Abdul El-Sayed failed to clinch the nomination for Michigan governor despite the star power of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez[/FONT][FONT="] [/FONT][FONT="]CREDIT: PAUL SANCYA/AP
[FONT="]Adul El-Sayed, for example, failed to win the nod to run for Michigan governor, despite appearing days before the election with Mr Sanders and the new Leftist superstar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (whose New York primary win this year is less impressive when you know she won on a 13 percent turnout).
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[FONT="]In other words, Democrats look as if they are capable of running a proper campaign come November. Their candidates have broadly coalesced around mainstream messages of protecting existing healthcare provisions and economic fairness.
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[FONT="]At the same time, there are worrying signs for Mr Trump that his coalition is fracturing. Analysts point to what happened in Ohio, where turnout surged in suburban areas – home to the least Trumpist of Republican voters – compared with loyalist rural areas, and where the Democratic candidate made extensive inroads into the sort of wealthy neighbourhoods that Republicans really must hold.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The Democrats may be on a roll but Mr Trump can still claim a victory of sorts. His endorsement may yet have ensured that Mr Balderston nosed across the finish line in Ohio. And he retains an impressive record of picking winners, even when contradicting his party establishment and plumping for outsiders. So far he has picked (at least) 14 of 16 winners since taking power.
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[FONT="]But that won’t be enough to hang on in November. General election voters are different to grass roots Republicans. A Trump endorsement is less of an advantage.
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[FONT="]Fortunately, for Mr Trump, the answers are at hand. He heads a booming economy – so often the most important factor for voters. A historically low 3.9% unemployment rate and big recent increases in manufacturing employment (growing by more than 300,000 in the past year) offer him a powerful argument that he is delivering on his promises.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Fortunately, for Mr Trump, the answers are at hand. He heads a booming economy – so often the most important factor for voters. A historically low 3.9% unemployment rate and big recent increases in manufacturing employment (growing by more than 300,000 in the past year) offer him a powerful argument that he is delivering on his promises.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Critics may say he inherited the boom – voters tend to care less so long as they have dollars in their pocket.
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[FONT="]To make it count, Mr Trump must remember how he pulled off his sensational 2016 win. Not the barnstorming rallies or freewheeling speeches. Not the bitter personal attacks or needless vulgarity that pleases the base but leaves decent people cold. What he needs is that extraordinary message discipline that saw him clinch the deal in the final days of the campaign, when he showed he could resist the bait of his opponents and keep hammering Hillary on her emails while promising to repeal Obamacare.
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[FONT="]"Stay on point, Donald, stay on point,” is how he put it during one of his last rallies in Florida. “No side tracks Donald. Nice and easy."[/FONT]
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[FONT="]To make it count, Mr Trump must remember how he pulled off his sensational 2016 win. Not the barnstorming rallies or freewheeling speeches. Not the bitter personal attacks or needless vulgarity that pleases the base but leaves decent people cold. What he needs is that extraordinary message discipline that saw him clinch the deal in the final days of the campaign, when he showed he could resist the bait of his opponents and keep hammering Hillary on her emails while promising to repeal Obamacare.
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[FONT="]"Stay on point, Donald, stay on point,” is how he put it during one of his last rallies in Florida. “No side tracks Donald. Nice and easy."[/FONT]
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[FONT="]He has done it before and he can do it again. Tuesday’s poor showing is early enough for Republicans to stem the damage. Democrats are on a roll but “no-side-tracks Donald”, armed with an impressive economic record, makes for a formidable campaigner.[/FONT]
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