Like, the stain of January 6th stuck for me.
In my local elections, I was actively researching what candidates said in support of the Jan 6 riot.
If the democrats in my locality weren’t stinky, it would have been easier.
For each R candidate (if the D candidate was awful), I was looking up what Rs said about Raffensberger (and trumps question of him finding votes), fake electors, etc.

The stain sticks. But I am moderate.

WILL Trump stain elections next time, or will voters put it in their rearview.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

Which part of Democrats outperforming their 2024 presidential margins consistently everywhere throughout the country is making you so confident?

Every election today is 100 percent about Trump, who is rapidly becoming the most unpopular president in modern history. Trump will not be on the ballot in 2028.

Of course Trump will be on the ballot. How can you be so naive? That is truly the most ridiculous assertion I have heard in ages. Anyone who has ever worked in the Trump administration will be stained for the rest of their careers with the association and will put Trumo back on the ballot. But in 2028... all Republicans are stained. Their quiet and complicity and constant support are all keeping Trump on the ballot. I have MANY independent and Republican family members who will tell you this. Trump has driven many people away.

NP jumping in the argument. It’s a difference of opinion between you and the other poster.
Will Trump and a coalition be on the ballot?
OR, possibly..
Will we be post-Trump?

The second possibility could be to a large, or to a small, degree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

Which part of Democrats outperforming their 2024 presidential margins consistently everywhere throughout the country is making you so confident?

Every election today is 100 percent about Trump, who is rapidly becoming the most unpopular president in modern history. Trump will not be on the ballot in 2028.

Of course Trump will be on the ballot. How can you be so naive? That is truly the most ridiculous assertion I have heard in ages. Anyone who has ever worked in the Trump administration will be stained for the rest of their careers with the association and will put Trumo back on the ballot. But in 2028... all Republicans are stained. Their quiet and complicity and constant support are all keeping Trump on the ballot. I have MANY independent and Republican family members who will tell you this. Trump has driven many people away.

If we are going for archetypes, I think Beshear is it. We like nominating governors. The Midwest swing states don’t want a coastal elite. If Pritzker wasn’t a nepo billionaire he would also be an archetype.

I would be happy with either one. I hope they know how to run a campaign or at least hire the right people to run a good campaign.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

Which part of Democrats outperforming their 2024 presidential margins consistently everywhere throughout the country is making you so confident?

Every election today is 100 percent about Trump, who is rapidly becoming the most unpopular president in modern history. Trump will not be on the ballot in 2028.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

If, by chance, Vance is not the nominee then it will be Rubio.

Neither Vance or Rubio will be the nominee. A big part of Trump's appeal to the white working class was the assumption that Trump will keep us out of stupid wars. But Trump 2.0 is the most belligerent presidency we've had in generations. And Rubio is an agent of that. Threatening an invasion of Greenland is not popular with the base. Nor is the endless support of Israel. Nor is destroying our relationships with traditional allies. Nor are all the tariffs that have raised prices on everything. Nor is sucking up to Putin. Nor is there popular support for our imminent attack on Iran. Plus, vets and service members absolutely despise Hegseth and all the culture war BS the Trump administration is imposing on the military. And Little Marco owns all of that.

By 2028, white working class Republicans will choose a clean break from Trumpism. Plus, being closely associated with Trump has never worked out well for anyone. The Republican nomination will almost certainly go to DeSantis, who very wisely has stayed far removed from Trump. And that is going to be a problem for Democrats if once again they choose a weak candidate.

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

Which part of Democrats outperforming their 2024 presidential margins consistently everywhere throughout the country is making you so confident?

Anonymous wrote:There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

If, by chance, Vance is not the nominee then it will be Rubio.

There is zero chance Vance will be the nominee. Democrats should assume Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will be the Republican nominee - someone untouched by the Trump stench.

Democrats seem to assume the White House will fall into their lap in 2028. But DeSantis and/or Haley are going to be strong candidates. Both can very plausibly run as anti-Trump Republicans. And if Democrats don't come up with a good nominee, a lot of independents may break their way.

I am still not seeing a strong potential Democratic nominee who can easily beat DeSantis or Haley in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and so on. And Democratic over-confidence has been a big problem. See Hilary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

There seems to be an assumption that since Gavin Newsom is a white man that fixes all the problem. But I am very confident Newsom will lose to DeSantis or Haley in the battleground states. Someone else needs to pop soon.

Anonymous wrote:James Talarico or someone like him.

Talarico? Please.

He won't even win the 2026 TX democrats primary.

Anonymous wrote:The archetype is history background (phd level or higher), outsider to politics, fair and smart.

Ken Burns!

Truthfully, the archetype stands even if Ken Burns doesn’t hold up as a candidate.

Why can’t we have a democratic outsider, a smart and wise person?

Mega-donors don't trust "outsiders" to carry on the reciprocal nature of a politician/donor relationship. Mega-donors usually get their way.

The archetype is history background (phd level or higher), outsider to politics, fair and smart.

Ken Burns!

Truthfully, the archetype stands even if Ken Burns doesn’t hold up as a candidate.

Why can’t we have a democratic outsider, a smart and wise person?

Anonymous wrote:Someone from the Midwest who can appear to represent the middle class. The upper class and upper middle class have too much influence on the DNC.

First they must be able to clearly define middle class. Politicians use that phrase inconsistently.

Whitmer continues to embarrass herself.

Someone from the Midwest who can appear to represent the middle class. The upper class and upper middle class have too much influence on the DNC.