A Shock to the GOP From MAGA Country
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Democrats have been lost in the wilderness since Donald Trump ’s victory, but if Tuesday’s special election shocker in Pennsylvania is any harbinger, the MAGA Republican ascendancy is perishable. In Lancaster County, which went for Mr. Trump last year by 16 points, Democrats flipped a state Senate seat that the GOP had occupied for decades.
With about 150 provisional and overseas ballots outstanding, the Democratic nominee, East Petersburg Mayor James Malone, is leading by 482 votes. The GOP candidate, county commission Chairman Josh Parsons, conceded Wednesday. Most of the district’s voters are Republicans, and Mr. Parsons raised more money, the local press says. So what happened?
Democrats are crowing that the outcome is a reaction to what’s happening down the road in Washington. “Tonight in Lancaster County, Pennsylvanians rejected a candidate who embraced the extremism and division coming out of DC,” wrote Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The party’s new national chair, Ken Martin, said Democrats “continue to overperform as voters join us in fighting back against the Trump-Musk agenda.” Left unsaid is what Democrats think their new Pennsylvania state Senator is supposed to do about Elon Musk , exactly.
Yet nationalizing relatively sleepy local races can be politically effective, and Democrats hope to do the same thing next week in Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court election, and in two special elections for open U.S. House seats in Florida.
Voter turnout in such races can be considerably smaller than in November, so the results aren’t always predictive. About 54,000 people in the Lancaster district voted this time around, compared with 92,000 who showed up and supported the previous GOP Senator when he ran unopposed in 2022.
Still, Republicans might want to take this surprise loss in MAGA country as a warning. Mr. Trump’s tariff threats are whipsawing financial markets and the broader economy. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its survey of consumer confidence showed a drop in March, for the fourth consecutive month. Even voters who like the GOP’s policy agenda could be jolted by the impression of chaos in Washington, plus Mr. Trump’s recent focus on retribution.
Democrats got pummeled last year because they followed out-of-touch leaders down ideological rabbit holes. Republicans will suffer if they do the same thing in reverse.
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Of silk purses and sow's ears ... swagger bags!
gee, it could get pretty expensive shoring up those gerrymandered districts for trumpski's little dog during the midterms ...