Yet More Bad News for Dems Before an Expected 2022 Electoral Bloodbath

As Democrats struggle to find something, anything to hang their hat on in an attempt to somehow maintain power after the 2022 elections, things are looking worse and worse for them.

For one, there’s Biden, who’s been an utter disaster. Between the rout from Afghanistan, the sky-high level of inflation, the general dislike Americans have of his domestic policies, the crisis at the border, and now the potential war in Ukraine.

Plus, there’s everything going on with his son, Hunter, whose crack-addled brain landed him in many an unsavory situation, situations that are now coming to light.

But it’s not just Biden’s unpopularity that’s setting Democrats up for a historically bad year of midterm elections.

No, another problem, one that might be even larger in importance, is that dozens of longtime Democrats are dropping out, deciding to give up seats that they’ve held for years rather than face tough elections this year.

The Hill, reporting on that trend,

The number of House Democrats not seeking reelection this year has hit a 30-year high — a bleak benchmark reflecting frustrations with the gridlock on Capitol Hill, the toxicity of relations between the parties and the challenges facing Democrats as they fight to keep their slim majority in the lower chamber. 

It marks just the third time since 1978 that either party has seen at least 30 retirements in a single cycle, according to figures tallied by the non-partisan Brookings Institution. The last instance was just four years ago, in the 2018 midterms, when 34 House Republicans made for the exits. It was a grim sign of things to come: The GOP went on to lose 41 seats — and the House majority — in a Democratic wave widely viewed as a referendum on then-President Trump. 

That’s important, and not just because it shows that even longtime Democrats no longer have faith in their party.

For one, it’s demoralizing for Democrats to see so many representatives head for the exits. Though few are big names are retiring, numerous representatives that have been party stalwarts for years are; that can’t be a good feeling heading into what’s already predicted to be a difficult election.

Additionally, it means that the Democrats will either have to give up seats or shell out big bucks in a desperate attempt to keep them. Incumbents have an electoral advantage, so losing dozens of them will place an added strain on the Democrat apparatus. Perhaps the left’s big donors, especially the Big Tech types, can pay enough for that to not matter. Then again, perhaps not.

Describing that advantage, the Hill quotes Kyle Kondik, a political handicapper at UVA, as saying that:

“Incumbency is not as electorally valuable as it used to be, but a party still would rather have an incumbent running, generally speaking, than no. Open seats are still easier for the opposition party to flip than incumbent-held seats.”

So, these retirements are big problem for Democrats and, if Republicans can capitalize on it, could add to the size of the red wave expected to swamp the Swamp this fall.

jflippo98

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