Day: May 16, 2017

Dems Way Ahead in Generic 2018 Ballot

Buck Banks

49% to 38%

A new Public Policy Polling survey shows Democrats now have a 49% to 38% lead overall on the generic congressional ballot.“Even more notable though is that among voters who say they’re ‘very excited’ to turn out in the 2018 election, the Democratic lead balloons to 27 points at 61% to 34%. The outcome of lower turnout midterm elections often hinges on which side is more engaged, and Democrats have the clear advantage at this point on that front — 63% of their voters say they’re ‘very excited’ about voting in next year’s election, compared to only 52% of Republicans who say the same.”

Trump’s an ‘Enfant Terrible’

Buck Banks

“At certain times Donald Trump has seemed like a budding authoritarian, a corrupt Nixon, a rabble-rousing populist or a big business corporatist. … But as Trump has settled into his White House role, he has given a series of long interviews, and when you study the transcripts it becomes clear that fundamentally he is none of these things. … At base, Trump is an infantalist. There are three tasks that most mature adults have sort of figured out by the time they hit 25. Trump has mastered none of them. Immaturity is becoming the dominant note of his presidency, lack of self-control his leitmotif.”

— David Brooks

Republicans See Strong Early Challengers for Trump

Buck Banks

“The early Democratic jockeying to take on President Donald Trump has not gone unnoticed on the other side of the aisle — and Republicans concede there are quite a few potentially formidable contenders. … In interviews with two dozen GOP operatives, strategists and officials around the country, Republicans placed the most credible Democratic candidates into categories: the rising congressional stars (Kamala Harris) and the pure political outsiders (Mark Cuban), the fiery progressives (Elizabeth Warren) and the pragmatic moderates (John Hickenlooper).”

— McClatchy