Dems catch a break from the culture wars

But the war in Ukraine and the ensuing domestic economic fallout have given Democrats a chance to put those matters aside and focus on an unlikely, more favorable set of issues eight months before the midterms.

For once, it’s not banned books or transgender athletes nonstop on Americans’ TVs, but foreign affairs and rising gas prices. In the past week, Biden’s public approval ratings have ticked up, and the generic ballot has improved slightly for Democrats. Democratic governors are proposing gas price relief, while the party’s campaign arms are pummeling Republicans on taxes and health care costs…

“Republicans have done a better job, always, of creating wedge issues out of cultural issues,” said Trav Robertson, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. The mandate for Democrats in the midterms, he said, is “to remind people” instead that the party in power increased vaccinations, passed legislation to rebuild infrastructure and is navigating the conflict in Ukraine.

When asked if Democrats should proactively engage voters at all on cultural issues, he said, “No.”