Dem addiction to Trump attacks gives party cause for concern

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Hill

Democrats are linking Republican gubernatorial candidates to President Trump in New Jersey and Virginia, two states won by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential election where the attacks could drive base voters to the polls.

But some Democrats are concerned about their party’s strategy.

Even if Democrats win the two contests, they say it could give the party a false sense of confidence that attacking Trump is the best way to win the House and Senate in 2018.

 

“It's like a jolt of sugar and they can't put it down,” Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said of the Trump attacks.

Simmons said Democratic activists relish the attacks on Trump, he but questioned whether it will help the party win over the centrist and independent voters they will need to win races across the country.

“If you want to convince a semi-regular voter to show up on Election Day, you need to find something else,” he said.

For evidence that the attacks on Trump are not a panacea for the party, Democrats don’t have to go back all the way to 2016.

The party suffered a string of losses in House special elections earlier this year, most notably in Georgia, where they feverishly backed Jon Ossoff in a House race that was viewed as a referendum of sorts on Trump.

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Time for an intervention?