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Reactions to
the Nov. 3, 2015 Off-Year Elections
MEMORANDUM
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Chris Carr, RNC Political Director
RE: About Last Night. . .
DATE: November 4, 2015
One year after a historic midterm rout and 14 weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Democrats were defeated yet again in key races across the country.
In Kentucky, Republican Matt Bevin pulled off a 9-point come-from-behind win in the governor’s race where Democrats were favored. Bevin’s running mate, Republican Lieutenant Governor-elect Jenean Hampton, will become the first African American elected statewide in Kentucky’s 223-year history. Republicans also had success winning a majority of the down ballot statewide races, which included defeating incumbent State Auditor Adam Edelen.
And in Virginia, Republicans won an intensely competitive battle for control of the State Senate in a key presidential swing state. Despite Terry McAuliffe and Clinton, Inc. throwing the kitchen sink at Republicans, the GOP maintained its majorities in the State Senate and House of Delegates by winning on the Democrats’ turf while they campaigned predominately on gun control and expanding ObamaCare. In fact, Republicans won more than a dozen seats in the General Assembly that were carried by President Obama in 2012 and tripled the number of women serving in the State Senate. The failure of the Democrat message and the Clinton political machine to deliver victories on their own turf is a major warning sign for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
There were other bright spots across the map from deep blue New England to the South. Republicans won special elections for two Democrat-held seats in the Maine House of Representatives. In Mississippi, not only did every Republican statewide incumbent cruise to victory, but the GOP increased its majority in the legislature, where the Democrat House Minority Leader was among those defeated for reelection. And in New Hampshire, voters in Manchester reelected Republican Mayor Ted Gatsas in a hard fought race.
Last night’s victories showed Democrats cannot expand the map in 2016 and that their campaign platform struggles to resonate even on their own turf. Meanwhile, Republicans showed the ability to win races in highly competitive areas of the country that have presidential implications like Virginia’s ‘urban crescent.’ These results also prove that the RNC’s retooled approach to voter turnout that delivered historic victories last November is continuing to pay dividends. Among other contests, the RNC coordinated with 45 General Assembly races in Virginia and with the Republican ticket in Kentucky to help deliver last night’s big wins. Being a year-round, data-driven party is a winning proposition, and there is no other entity – Democrat or Republican – currently organizing get-out-the-vote efforts on the scale of the RNC anywhere in the country.
One cannot understate the decimation of the Democrat Party under Barack Obama. Governor-elect Bevin’s victory brought the number of GOP-held governorships to 32, while Democrats now hold just 17 and stand to lose more next year. In total, Democrats have lost more than 900 state legislative seats, 13 U.S. Senate seats, 69 U.S. House seats, and 12 governorships since President Obama was elected.
Our party heads into the 2016 election with positive momentum and with the right vision to put our country back on track. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to face significant headwinds and Hillary Clinton’s strategy to move further to the left on issues like gun control while embracing President Obama’s legacy looks increasingly like a losing proposition.
To: Interested Parties
- Republicans held control of the Virginia Senate, the biggest legislative battleground of 2015. They maintain a 21-19 majority against a flood of over $3 million in late progressive spending against Republican candidates. Republicans also kept a strong majority in the Virginia House.
- Lieutenant Governor-Elect Jenean Hampton became the first African American elected statewide in Kentucky history, joining Governor-Elect Matt Bevin. This is only the second time Republicans have won this office in 44 years.
- In Mississippi, Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney led the way with big re-election victories. Voters returned strong GOP majorities in both the state House and Senate.
- Also in Mississippi, voters rejected Initiative 42, keeping the state’s education rightly under the purview of accountable elected representatives, rather than one judge in Hinds County.
- The Republican majority in the New York Senate remains intact as Fred Akshar won the special election in District 52 with more than 70 percent of the vote in a district Obama won in 2012 and in a state formerly represented by Hillary Clinton.
- Maine Republicans picked up both House special elections in Obama-carried districts.
- Republicans flipped a Democratic Senate seat with Guy Reschenthaler’s victory in Pennsylvania District 37 to expand an Obama- blue state majority.
- While the race has not yet been called, the special election in Washington House District 30B is looking like it will be a GOP pickup by first-time candidate Teri Hickel, which will move that chamber one seat away from a split chamber.
Common Good PAC (McAullife): $3,979,157
Everytown for Gun Safety (Michael Bloomberg): $2,418,655
Philip Munger of NYC: $1,000,000
NextGen Climate Action PAC (Tom Steyer): $444,001
From:
Raul Alvillar, DNC Political Director
To: Interested Parties
Re: Important Gains Made on Election Day 2015
Date: November 4, 2015
While talking heads have focused on the gubernatorial race in Kentucky, there are a number of results from yesterday’s elections that show the Democratic Party made strides – both in Kentucky and around the country – through important victories at the state and local levels. In Kentucky, for example, our investments helped Democrats win two statewide races, including the re-election of our Secretary of State and the election of a new Attorney General. At the same time, a number of yesterday’s elections helped lay the groundwork for strengthening the Party’s voter engagement heading into the 2016 elections, and there were critical victories in key states at the ballot box that will help ensure a redistricting process that respects every American’s right to vote.
Ensuring Fairness in Redistricting
In Ohio, a ballot initiative to increase minority party representation on Ohio’s redistricting commission and to establish new requirements for district boundaries was approved overwhelmingly with 71.46% of the vote. The new bipartisan commission will be more balanced and likely to produce a less partisan map when new redistricting plans are drawn up. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, where the DNC made a significant investment, three seats up for grabs on the state Supreme Court were won by Judges widely recognized for their commitment to impartiality and protecting the rights of every American.
Gains at the State and Local Levels
We also made gains in state legislatures and mayoral races with candidates committed to fighting for hardworking Americans and the middle class, who will play a role in replenishing our party’s bench with new and diverse talent across the country. In New Hampshire, for example, Democrats won the mayoral race in Nashua, New Hampshire, secured wins in North Carolina mayoral races in Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham, as well as three critical mayoral seats in the Ohio cities of Akron, Columbus, and Toledo. In Florida, with the DNC’s help, Mayor Buddy Dyer fought off a wealthy challenger in Orlando, while in one of the biggest pick-ups of the cycle, Democrat Joe Hogsett won the mayoral seat in Indianapolis.
Below we’ve detailed specific races in states all across the country.
Colorado: Democrats successfully recalled tea party-backed school board members in three school districts (Jefferson, Douglas and Thompson Valley). The race saw national attention because of a conservative push to re-write the AP history curriculum.
Florida: Buddy Dyer won a competitive re-election battle for mayor of Orlando, FL, the fourth-largest city in the state.
Idaho: Democratic incumbent mayor David Bieter won re-election as the mayor of Boise, the largest city in the state.
Indiana: Democrat Joe Hogsett won the mayor’s seat back from Republican control in Indianapolis by a whopping 62-38 margin. Democrats also held mayoral seats in Fort Wayne, South Bend and Gary.
Kentucky: Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and Attorney General-Elect Andy Beshear both won their state-wide elections.
Mississippi: Our investments in Mississippi paid off, as Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood won re-election in a deep-red state with a popular incumbent governor from the opposing party.
New Hampshire: Former mayor Jim Donchess won his bid for mayor of Nashua
New Jersey: In a rebuke to Governor Chris Christie’s record of failure and constant absence from the state, voters elected the largest Democratic majority in recent years in the Assembly with a near veto-proof majority of 51 to 29.
North Carolina: Jennifer Roberts won her bid to be the mayor of Charlotte, the largest city in the state, while Bill Bell was re-elected in Durham and Nancy Vaughan was re-elected in Greensboro.
Ohio: An important redistricting ballot measure backed by Democrats was approved by an overwhelming margin, which will restore integrity and fairness to the process. Furthermore, Democrats retained mayoral seats in Akron, Columbus, and Toledo—Dan Horrigan, Andrew Ginther, and Paula Hicks-Hudson, respectively.
Pennsylvania: Democrat Jim Kenney was elected as the new mayor of Philadelphia. Three seats up for grabs on the state Supreme Court were won by Judges widely recognized for their commitment to impartiality and protecting the rights of every American, heading toward a redistricting period in two years.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2015
CONTACT: Carolyn Fiddler
National Communications Director
Democrats Celebrate State Legislative Wins
Democrats Expand Majority in NJ Assembly, Pick Up Seats in MO, VA Houses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Heather Williams congratulated Democratic legislative candidates in Virginia, Mississippi, and New Jersey for their strong performance in today’s elections. In the Virginia House of Delegates, Democrats picked up at least one seat (some races remain too close to call) while holding 19 seats in the state Senate. In New Jersey, Democrats expanded our Assembly majority by flipping at least three GOP-held seats. Additionally, Democrats picked up a House seat in a Missouri special election.“The DLCC congratulates the Democratic candidates who won tonight,” said Williams. “Virginia, New Jersey, and Mississippi Democrats recruited slates of strong and diverse candidates who ran outstanding campaigns. Thanks to the hard work of thousands of Democratic volunteers and supporters, Democrats in these states are in a stronger position to fight for working families and middle-class values as they work to expand access to healthcare, improve roads and infrastructure, support our public schools, and protect Americans from gun violence.
“Additionally, Democratic values scored a solid victory in Maine tonight as voters affirmed Question 1, which will strengthen the state’s campaign finance and ethics laws in defiance of GOP Gov. Paul LePage’s dark-money agenda,” Williams continued. “Democrats swept the three open seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as well, which will help give Democratic state legislators a strong voice in the next round of redistricting there. The Democratic special election win in Missouri will help protect the state from another right-wing “right to work” push next year.
“With these victories and enhanced Democratic voices in statehouses, we’re in a stronger position to fight back against right-wing extremism in advance of 2016 state legislative elections nationwide.”
American Bridge 21st Century
November 4, 2015
Kochs Swing And Miss In 3 Crucial Swing States
The Kochs went all in for the 2015 election, investing heavily in ballot initiatives and races up and down the ticket. But Charles and David came up short yesterday in three crucial swing states: Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Ohio.In Pennsylvania, a Koch-linked group spent $1 million trying to tip the scales in a state Supreme Court yesterday. All three open Pennsylvania Supreme Court seats were won by Democrats. In Colorado, Charles and David's AFP spent hundreds of thousands in two county school board elections, fueling "a money-soaked proxy war." Again, the Kochs lost big. And in Ohio, 76% of voters approved the Coloumbus Zoo and Aquarium's levy renewal -- a cause the Kochs have been fighting for over a year.
Charles and David can't be happy with these results: They don't bode well for the Kochs' prospects in 2016, when they plan to spend hundreds of millions more hawking the same unpopular policies.
It's clear that Charles and David -- and their policies and candidates -- have a serious popularity problem among swing state voters.
And that, in turn, poses a very serious concern for whomever ends up being the GOP nominee. Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and the rest of the GOP field have done everything they can to make the Koch agenda their own -- and they'll continue to do so as long as Charles and David's $889 million is up for grabs.
Copyright © 2015 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
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