Vulnerable House Democrats Finally Decide to Focus on Policy over Trump

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

In 2018, Donald Trump’s presence may have helped Democrats take back the U.S. House, but now the party in power is pondering a different plan to retain their majority.

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Axios reports that “Democrats are privately concerned nationalizing the 2022 mid-terms with emotionally-charged issues — from Critical Race Theory to Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection — will hamstring their ability to sell the local benefits of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.”

“The push by centrist lawmakers, especially from the suburbs, to keep the conversation away from Trump is frequently derailed by the party’s loudest voices — and their insistence to talk about him at every turn,” the outlet added.

The Squad types and the majority of U.S. congressmen — on both sides of the aisle — represent monolithic districts where re-election is guaranteed, but Democrats in swing districts now seem convinced that running for re-election on national issues isn’t a smart move.

“All politics are local,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a leading centrist Democrat, explained. “I don’t believe you run national campaigns for Congress.”

A Pennsylvania congresswoman from a swing district told Axios, “People don’t want to hear about Donald Trump. They’re going to vote because they want to see people get sh-t done.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has used anti-Trump invective to raise money and motivate radical activists for years, but persuadable voters are more concerned with so-called kitchen table issues: supply chain, inflation, record-setting violent crime, schools, and yes, international affairs and border security.

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DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, who’s had an embarrassing time getting his facts wrong lately, recently said President Joe Biden’s agenda should come before focusing on Trump and the Capitol insurrection of 11 months ago.

Related: Meltdown: Winsome Sears’ Victory in Virginia Has Sent Dems Over the Edge

After their debacle in the Virginia gubernatorial election five weeks ago — where failed Democrat nominee Terry McAuliffe espoused no vision except anti-Trump balderdash — and with the unpopularity of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Democrats should realize the red wave is forming. If and how they adjust is up to them.

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