Jacob Heilbrunn

How Democrat success in the midterms could help Trump

Today’s midterm election is bound to put a bit of swagger back into the steps of Democrats. If polls are anything to go by — and since when have they ever led anyone astray? — it will be a dolorous evening for Republicans as they watch state legislatures, governors, and Congress turn Democratic. CNN has the generic gap between Democrats and Republicans at 55 per cent to 42 per cent. Politico purports to discern an upswing for candidates such as Kyrsten Sinema. Maybe a new political category will also be detected — the shy Democrat voter who scurries to the polls, half ashamed at surrendering his or her Republican identity to pull the lever for a liberal or moderate Democrat. Might the Senate go Democratic as well?

This is the nightmare scenario for the GOP, though Donald Trump, a political arsonist, might initially be amused by the carnage he has wrought.

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