Recent court rulings favoring Republican redistricting efforts have energized GOP strategists heading into the midterm elections, but Democrats remain hopeful of their prospects for flipping the House.
Senior Republican strategists outlined an optimistic midterm strategy centered on favorable redistricting in additional states, a summer campaign around "America 250" celebrating the nation's 250th birthday and a midterm convention to maintain momentum, reported NOTUS.
“We will make sure that people are aware of the fact that we are the party of patriotism and love of country, and the Democrats are just, I mean, there’s polling to support me on this,” said one Republican strategist. “They are not proud to be Americans. It’s very obvious, and they can’t help themselves.”
The U.S. Supreme Court turbocharged the state-by-state redistricting wars, and Democrats were hit with a significant blow last week when the Virginia Supreme Court struck downa new congressional map recently approved by voters – which allowed doubts to creep into the minds of some Democratic strategists.
One Democratic operative told reporters it was the first time they seriously doubted whether the party could gain House control in November, but that's not necessarily a universal belief .
Democrats note that outside of district lines, Republicans face significant headwinds. President Donald Trump's approval ratings remain historically low, and gas prices continue rising.
“It’s not just that he’s unpopular," said one senior Democrat. "It’s that he’s really unpopular and he’s starting to show cracks with Republicans – and where this can get truly ugly for them is we have a turnout differential.”
Democrats point to substantial fundraising gains following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision weakening the Voting Rights Act, and anticipate that aggressive partisan gerrymandering of majority-Black districts in the South could energize voter turnout.
Yet Democrats face emerging challenges beyond redistricting. The redrawn districts in the South will likely result in fewer Black Democratic lawmakers, complicating efforts to maintain party unity among its multi-racial coalition heading into November's elections.