Clinton insiders have pinned their loss on James Comey, Vladimir Putin, Obama, Fox News, the electoral college and an assortment of other factors. And while all of those played a role in Hillary Clinton’s defeat, explaining her party’s nationwide collapse will prove more difficult. The truth is that Democrats have lost middle America.
Since Obama’s win in 2008, Democrats have taken a pounding at the polls, losing 68 seats in the House, 12 seats in the Senate and 10 governorships. And those are not even the most disturbing data points. Former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Steve Israel told me on “Morning Joe” Thursday that local Democratic officeholders lost more than 1,000 elected positions between 2008 and 2012. And since 2010, more than 900 state legislators have surrendered their seats to the party of Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
The impact of those setbacks becomes painfully apparent when you look at the aging politicians in their 70s fighting to lead their party into the future. Nancy Pelosi is 76. Bernie Sanders is 75. Joe Biden is 74. The vice president is eyeing a run for the top spot when he is 78. He would likely have to run against Elizabeth Warren, who would be 71 in 2020. Looking to the states for younger leadership will prove frustrating when Democrats control only 18 of 50 governors’ mansions.
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