The Democratic leadership defied the pressures from the catastrophic loss of Hillary Clinton by refusing to change its leadership, particularly the deeply unpopular minority leader Nancy Pelosi. It has also gone “all in” on issues like immigration that deeply divide the country. Now, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, shows that the Democrats’ once towering edge over Republicans going into the mid term elections has largely disappeared. With six months to go, 47% of registered voters say they back the Democratic candidate in their district, 44% back the Republican — within the margin of error.
What is interesting is that many voters confirm that Trump is a dominant factor but that is both positive and negative in different races. Some 48% say Trump makes them more likely to vote for a Democrat while 43% say that they want a candidate who will support Trump. Roughly, two-thirds of voters (64%) say they consider Trump to be extremely or very important to their vote for Congress this year.
In the meantime, the DNC is not backing down from its commitment to pro-immigration positions, which have been denounced by Republicans as virtual open-door policies. Democratic National Committee deputy chair Keith Ellison, D-Minn., fueled renewed criticism this week by wearing a T-shirt calling for an end to U.S. borders. His black t-shirt read “Yo no creo en fronteras” or “I don’t believe in borders.”
We discussed Ellison earlier in his seeming endorsement of the Antifa Handbook.
This election could well turn on a combination of the feelings toward Trump and immigration.
That was mildly interesting to skim through the comments to the end.