By: Randy Evans
On a night when Republicans were expected to do well, they did. Well, to be more accurate, on a night when Democrats were expected to do poorly, they did – losing in places they never expected to lose (like Iowa and Colorado) and slipping further and further behind in state capitols and legislatures around the country (including governorships in traditionally dark blue states like Maryland and Massachusetts).
At the national level, disgusted and angry voters vented in a very direct way on President Barack Obama, taking their concerns to the ballot box. Before all of the votes are counted, and runoffs completed, Democrats will definitively lose control of the United States Senate (losing from seven to 10 Senate seats) and Republicans will increase their margin of control in the United States House of Representatives (picking up 12 seats).
Contrary to a Republican self-proclaimed resurgence at the national level, the 2014 midterm elections were not as much validations of a Republican national agenda as repudiation of the Obama Administration’s policies. The moment President Obama weighed in and nationalized the election by stating that his policies were on the ballot, the political landscape fundamentally and irreversibly changed.
Make no mistake, this election was transformed into a referendum on President Obama. Any hope that candidates like Michelle Nunn may have had quickly disappeared when President Obama described her and others as votes for him in the U.S. Senate.
As a result, there was no Contract With America. But, there was no need for one.
Notwithstanding the results, the Republican brand at the national level remains tarnished, and sustaining a governing majority for longer than a single election cycle after President Obama will be a challenge unless changes continue to happen. So, while the 2014 election victories are enough for Republicans to celebrate, it will be but a temporary celebration absent a recognition Republicans must continue the efforts begun in this election cycle to reach out to address issues and constituencies beyond traditional Republican circles.
What little hope Democrats had with polished candidates in Kentucky and Georgia were dashed with harsh doses of cold stark reality. Kentucky Republican (soon to be Majority Leader) Senator Mitch McConnell crushed his Democratic challenger. And, in Georgia, David Perdue delivered an equally decisive victory over Michelle Nunn.
Just when Georgia Democrats fielded credible candidates supported by serious resources, Georgia voters went to the polls and left no doubt that Georgia remains a solid red state. All the talk of transition and purple quickly dissipated into a sea of solid red as Georgia Republicans won every single statewide office and solidified their hold in the Georgia General Assembly.
There are no excuses this time. Pollsters, the media, and pundits just all got it wrong. Georgia is still a red state.
In fairness, some part of the margins in Georgia exploded from President Obama’s abysmal approval ratings in Georgia. And, some part resulted from an all-out effort by the Georgia Republican Party reminiscent of 2002, energized by the fear of real Democratic candidates who presented real challenges in the U. S. Senate and gubernatorial elections
Yet, the combination of Gov. Nathan Deal’s impressive record and the prospect of giving President Obama one more vote in the U.S. Senate made Georgia simply unattainable for Democrats. For weeks, insiders knew that absent some October surprise or a candidate miscue of mammoth proportions during the final weeks of the campaign, Georgia would reelect Governor Deal and deliver another Republican vote in the U. S. Senate without a runoff.
From there, the GOP dominance ‘trickled down’ to every seriously contested race in Georgia (including the open State Superintendent’s race) and even extended to ousting perennial political survivor Twelfth District Democratic Congressman John Barrow — a Democratic Congressman in a Republican district. Like former middle Georgia Democratic Congressman Jim Marshall, the Republican tide in a midterm election was just too much for Congressman Barrow to survive.
Notwithstanding its import, the 2014 election actually settled very little for the United States. Republicans now control both Houses of the Congress. While certain to change many things (with quick work on things on which most of the Congress agrees), the more practical effect is to create a two-year holding pattern in Washington, D.C. as both political parties assess their brand and determine who their next standard bearers will be.
At the national level, there will be no shortage of presidential aspirants for either the Democrats or the Republicans. The lists for each were already long. With the political landscape in such transition, the lists will get even longer with the 2016 presidential election beginning almost immediately.
The same is true here in Georgia. Although Republicans won the day, Democrats proved that they have real candidates with real resources waiting in the wings for 2018. Jason Carter, Michelle Nunn, Kasim Reed and others all seem primed for statewide competition the next time around, and they have four years to sort out who will lead the next time around.
On the Republican side, the list is even longer with Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Attorney General Sam Olens, and a host of others jostling for the lead to succeed term-limited Governor Deal
Meanwhile, Gov. Deal will continue on in his quiet reassuring way. Georgia is the number one place to do business in America and his second term should reap the dividends.