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“We gotta stop looking at Washington as the only thing that matters. Something that has been really irritating to me is this idea that somehow state legislatures are the bench. That always implies that higher office means that it’s somehow a promotion. And that gets us back into this mess that we started in, where we ignore what’s happening in the states and state legislatures and then they chip away and chip away and chip away and before we know it we’ve lost two thirds of … state legislatures like we did starting in 2009.”
— Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D), quoted by the Washington Post, offering Democrats a warning.
“The early states are full of white liberals. They don’t like Joe. Then when we move to real Democrats, African Americans in the south, they loved him and he steamrolled everybody. Because in my party, the heart and soul of the party are people of color, not pain-in-the-ass white liberals on Twitter. I’m sorry to use bad language.”
— Democratic strategist Paul Begala slammed the “pain-in-the-ass white liberals” for being potential roadblocks to President Biden’s reelection, the HuffPost reports.
54%
A national NBC News/Telemundo poll of the Latino electorate out today finds that Democrats lead Republicans by more than 20 points among Latino voters, “but that Democratic advantage has declined from previous election cycles.” Key takeaway: 54% of Latino voters say they prefer Democrats to control Congress as a result of the upcoming midterm elections, versus 33% who want Republicans in charge.
“This only highlights the real tension between the socialist far left and the common-sense moderate wing, which is focused on crime, costs, tax cuts and affordability and turning the page on Covid.”
— Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) compared Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) decision to give a Working Families Party rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight to “keying your own car and slashing your own tires,” The Guardian reports.
“I am deeply concerned that, absent an immediate course correction, the party is headed for a wipeout in November, up and down the ballot.”
— Michael Bloomberg offered an apocalyptic warning for Democrats
“And the party’s House campaign arm had a stark warning for Democrats: Unless they more forcefully confront the GOP’s ‘alarmingly potent’ culture war attacks, from critical race theory to defunding the police, they risk losing significant ground to Republicans in the midterms.”
— Democrats’ own research shows that some battleground voters think the party is “preachy,” “judgmental” and “focused on culture wars,” Politico reports.
“I honestly don’t think the Democratic Party can be a majority party unless we start appealing to Middle America a lot more. I’m talking about the area between the two mountain ranges, the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains. And if we’re able to do that, I think it will provide success.”
— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) criticized fellow Democrats in a CNN interview for not appealing to Middle America more and said Democrats need to “show up” in those places if they want to win elections.
“If we can’t figure out as a party how to win in 2018, we’re going to be in tough shape for 2020. I think it’s a huge political mistake for Democrats to even be talking about 2020 at this point.”
— Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), quoted by the Associated Press.
“We no longer have a party caucus capable of riding this wave. We have 80-year-old leaders and 90-year-old ranking members. This isn’t a party. It’s a giant assisted living center. Complete with field trips, gym, dining room and attendants.”
— A Democratic Party operative, quoted by Politico.
“Our brand is worse than Trump. We can’t just run against Trump.”
— Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), quoted by the New York Times, explaining Democratic losses in four special elections this year.
