J.D. is right and wrong. Yes the money advantage the democrats had was huge. Here in Virginia the democrat in the 7th district outspent a great gop challenger 4 to 1, and won by less than 1 percent. And that was not an isolated case. But trump raised millions and banked the money for his own campaign rather than actually back his candidates. And he pushed some really bad candidates on us who were then defeated. Yes, he cost us the senate. The democrats helped too by advertizing for Trump's candidates because they knew they could beat them. J.D. is right that we need to figure out how to match the democrats in small donor fundraising, and more analysis is needed before we decide on a facile answer to our electoral woes, but Trump is the 800 pound elephant in the room, and cannot be ignored.
I posit that it's not so much the money gap which Republicans need to figure out how to close, but the boots-on-the-ground that was lacking. Look, in states like PA (where I sit) and AZ and MI, the Republicans lost not SOLELY because of Trump-backed candidates, but also in part because of the idiotic Covid-era election laws which were set aside and/or rewritten and which benefit Democrats. Mail-in voting, election week instead of election day, Republicans need to figure out how to USE these tools as the Democrats are using them, else we will never win enough in those places to GOVERN them out of existence.
J.D. is right and wrong. Yes the money advantage the democrats had was huge. Here in Virginia the democrat in the 7th district outspent a great gop challenger 4 to 1, and won by less than 1 percent. And that was not an isolated case. But trump raised millions and banked the money for his own campaign rather than actually back his candidates. And he pushed some really bad candidates on us who were then defeated. Yes, he cost us the senate. The democrats helped too by advertizing for Trump's candidates because they knew they could beat them. J.D. is right that we need to figure out how to match the democrats in small donor fundraising, and more analysis is needed before we decide on a facile answer to our electoral woes, but Trump is the 800 pound elephant in the room, and cannot be ignored.
I posit that it's not so much the money gap which Republicans need to figure out how to close, but the boots-on-the-ground that was lacking. Look, in states like PA (where I sit) and AZ and MI, the Republicans lost not SOLELY because of Trump-backed candidates, but also in part because of the idiotic Covid-era election laws which were set aside and/or rewritten and which benefit Democrats. Mail-in voting, election week instead of election day, Republicans need to figure out how to USE these tools as the Democrats are using them, else we will never win enough in those places to GOVERN them out of existence.