According to a report from Politico, there is a growing debate within the Democratic Party over strategy for the 2022 midterm election with some wanting to make it all about Donald Trump while others want to focus on issues that are popular with the voters -- a strategy that worked for them in the 2018 midterms.
According to one Democrat, Donald Trump may help them with their decision by continuing to keep himself front and center as the face of the party; doing their work for them and constantly reminding voters of the reason he lost re-election in 2020.
At issue are concerns by incumbent House Democrats in districts that could flip back to Republicans should the party fire up Trump's rabid base with attacks on the one-term ex-president.
As Politico's Melania Zanona and Sarah Ferris write, "With their fragile House majority on the line, many Democrats are imploring their colleagues not to take the Trump bait after last November's referendum on the ex-president ended up costing their party a dozen seats. Instead, those Democrats are eager to deploy a policy-heavy playbook to help stave off a potential midterm whipping — and are careful to avoid putting Trumpism on the ballot next November, too."
According to Rep. Stephanie Murray (D-FL), who likely faces a tough re-election fight in a state where Trump is still popular, she'd rather the Democratic Party not rile up his base.
"The former president is now a private citizen, and it appears our justice system is handling whatever potential misdeeds he may or may not have committed," she explained before adding, "Trump is a Republican problem and a Republican cancer that they need to cut out of their party. But that's their problem."
As it stands now, some Democratic-aligned groups are planning on making the Republican Party's opposition to a bipartisan commission tasked with investigating the Trump-inspired insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th as factor in the next election, while there is also the fact that Trump is on the verge of relaunching his rallies now that the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control under President Joe Biden.
Rep. Madeline Dean (D-PA) also noted that Trump will likely remain in the news due to his legal problems allowing Democrats to let the news cycle do their work for them allowing them to focus on pummeling their Republican opponents instead.
According to Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) who was the architect of the Democrats stunning House takeover in 2018 that was focused on the threat to health care and less on the now ex-president, Trump may do their dirty work for them.
"Even when President Trump was president, people got tired of hearing about him," he explained before noting the one-term president can be his own worst enemy.
"Trump puts his foot in his mouth more than anybody else. Let him do the talking. People are going to see him for what he is," Luján remarked.
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