The Anti-Trump Wave - WSJ editorial
Republicans took a thorough beating in Tuesday’s elections, and no one should sugar coat the results because the voting was confined to a few states. Democrats came out in droves to send a message of opposition to Donald Trump, and GOP candidates were swamped in the undertow. While the cliché is not to read too much into an off-year election, this defeat was broad and deep enough to signal that Republicans will struggle to hold Congress next year.
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Earlier on Election Day he tweeted support for Mr. Gillespie, whom he endorsed. The House victories in GOP-leaning districts Mr. Trump cites were also far closer than they should have been. Mr. Trump is motivating Democrats to vote while his divisive style and rhetoric are dividing Republicans. A Trumpian candidate nearly beat Mr. Gillespie in the primary and refused to endorse him until the end of the campaign as Mr. Gillespie appeared to be gaining in the polls.
Mr. Trump’s media allies are blaming Mr. Gillespie for not being Trumpian enough, but days before the election former White House aide Steve Bannon was saying Mr. Gillespie might win because he had endorsed Trumpian themes of crime and immigration.
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The message for Republicans going into 2018 is that they are in trouble in the swing suburban districts where the House will be won or lost. Republicans hold seats in 23 districts where Mrs. Clinton also won. One is the 10th Congressional District in North Virginia held by the estimable Barbara Comstock that includes much of Loudoun County. Democrats will run as a check on Mr. Trump, and Republicans need a response beyond a Nancy Pelosi fright mask.
Another message is that the GOP success down-ballot during the Obama years can go rapidly in reverse. That’s clear from the GOP rout in the Virginia House of Delegates. But there’s also evidence from Rob Astorino’s defeat as executive of Westchester County in New York, a state Senate seat in Washington that gives Democrats a majority, and a GOP incumbent mayoral loss in Manchester, N.H. American politics is more national than ever, and if Mr. Trump’s approval rating stays at 38% next year, the GOP’s state gains could wash away.
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The tides of politics ebb and flow, and Tuesday’s results show that the Trump years are likely to be good for Democrats.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-anti-trump-wave-1510166063
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