North Carolina special election was a 'five-alarm fire for Trump in the suburbs': elections expert

On MSNBC Wednesday, Cook Political Report analyst Dave Wasserman broke down how ominous it was for President Donald Trump and the GOP that they had to sink millions of dollars into North Carolina to narrowly win a special election in a district Trump previously carried by 12 points — in part, because the GOP badly underperformed in suburban Mecklenburg County, which will be pivotal for deciding the state.

"This is a five-alarm fire for Trump in the suburbs," said Wasserman. "He's basically self-destructed with college educated women and voters. If you look to the Mecklenburg district, in 2016 — these are what I would call the Whole Foods suburbs of Charlotte, pretty upscale, he won that portion of the district by 4 points in 2016. Dan McCready, the Democrat last fall, won those same suburbs by 9 points and won them yesterday by 12.5 points even though Dan Bishop, the Republican, represents that area in the state Senate."

"Clearly, Trump's unpopularity was driving the Democratic performance there," said Wasserman. "And it were replicated statewide, he would be on track to lose."

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