With few exceptions, 2014 turned out to be the worst possible scenario for Democrats. The Senate is not only back in the hands of Republicans, but with a margin of seats over Democrats that only the most optimistic scenarios envisioned. Governorships that Democrats expected to wrest from Republicans proved out of their reach, but worse yet they stunningly lost gubernatorial races in solidly blue states.
Heading into Election Day, everybody seemed to agree that Republicans had the edge, but it could go either way. Democrats had a plausible if unlikely path to Senate victory, and a promised silver lining in red state governor races. But at midnight on Wednesday, that conventional wisdom looks almost laughably dated. Republicans won almost every meaningful race and, even in a few where they lost, they made Democrats sweat more than anyone expected.
Ousting Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and avoiding what would have been an unbelievable upset of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are about the only small morsels that Democrats can hold onto. Otherwise, the map couldn’t have been any worse for Democrats — or better for Republicans.
SENATE
Arkansas — Democratic Sen. Mary Pryor looks to be heading to a double-digit loss to Rep. Tom Cotton.
Colorado — Democratic Sen. Mark Udall was supposed to have a winning strategy to emulate, working off the playbook that propelled to Sen. Michael Bennet to an unexpected 2010 win and Democrats were exporting to other states. But Republican Cory Gardner beat Udall handily.
Georgia — One possible bright spot for Democrats was Michelle Nunn beating David Perdue to steal a Republican seat. But rather than even force a runoff in January by keeping Perdue under 50 percent, Nunn lost fairly easily.
Kentucky — No bigger prize than toppling Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. Democrats also had a top recruit in Alison Lundergan Grimes and spent a lot of money to beat McConnell. But he triumphed handily.
Iowa — Like Colorado, a lightly blue state with a purportedly strong Democratic ground game — and Republican Joni Ernst cruised to a win over Bruce Braley.
North Carolina — Of all the toss-up races, Democrats seemed to be feeling the best about North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. But Republican Thom Tillis won out in a state that went for Obama in 2008.
Virginia — Nobody saw a close race here. Republican candidate Ed Gillespie pulled spending for his own campaign briefly in the final weeks of the campaign. But Democratic Sen. Mark Warner barely managed to eke out a win in a race that had observers in disbelief for most of the night.
GOVERNORS
Florida — Polling showed the race neck-and-neck, and Democrats were gleeful at the prospect of knocking off Rick Scott. In the end, he edged out a win over Democratic candidate and former Republican governor Charlie Crist.
Illinois — Few more reliably Democratic states than Illinois. But unpopular Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn fell to Republican Bruce Rauner.
Kansas — Ultra-conservative Gov. Sam Brownback was a favorite target for Democrats and they had a good candidate in state Sen. Paul Davis, who was polling well. But in the end, Kansas’s red tint won out.
Maryland — Like Illinois, a Democratic stalwart flips to Republican, with Democrat Anthony Brown losing to Republican Larry Hogan.
Massachusetts — The Illinois and Maryland recipe here, too. Democratic Martha Coakley loses a statewide race — again — this time to Republican Charlie Baker.
Wisconsin — Even more than Brownback or Scott, Republican Gov. Scott Walker — a presumed 2016 presidential aspirant — would have been a prize for Democrats. Mary Burke, at times, looked primed to give him a run for his money. But on Election Night, the outcome was never in doubt: Walker wins.
Vermont — This race had attracted attention only for the beards of some of its more obscure candidates. But Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, couldn’t earn enough votes to win the seat outright. Instead, the decision will go to the state legislature.
I don’t get it. Could somebody please explain to me why the American people are so mad at the Democrats? Like, normally I have a good sense for these things. But this year I’m just scratching my head trying to figure it out.
Remember “shell-shocked” from 2012? This is worse.
Will Kansas legislators learn anything from this?
I doubt they understand that this was a mandate-crusher for Brownback’s experiment in Koch enrichment.
They think they won something new, and all they did was barely hold on to an office in a state they have almost ruined.
But they have done so miserably, the next time we are just a few million short on tax revenues, they will consider it a victory, compared to the hundreds of millions, probably actually a billion or more, that they have lost to those struggling billionaires.
"Walker – a presumed 2016 presidential aspirant "
please… bring it on…
Americans tend to hate on the party of presidents in their 6th years, with very few exceptions. Add to that the Democrats still can’t proudly own their accomplishments and instead insist on apologizing for giving people health care, and well…there you go. I’m sure the next several weeks will involve a lot of pundits and Republicans crowing about the GOP Wave! Conservatism on the Rise! The Death of Liberalism! It’s A Mandate! CONSERVATIVE NATION HERE WE COME.
Democrats will not help this narrative because we’ll be too busy bemoaning how Obama is Just Like Bush and why don’t those nice people in the South like us yet? Which is a terrible idea. If you look at the ballot measures that passed at state levels, people are not buying into the GOP’s positions. Minimum wage laws passed, marijuana passed or got majority votes, and personhood was rejected. Americans are not crazy-eyed right-wing extremists, but they are fickle and not very good at paying attention.