WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2022) Democrats performed better than expected in the midterm elections due to the important issues that were on the line that mobilized voters, not the presence of some great strategic masterminds within the party, former African-American Outreach Director of Bernie Sanders' campaign, Michele Watley, told Sputnik.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden congratulated Republicans for winning the House majority as a result of last week's midterm elections, and vowed to cooperate with his political rivals to deliver results. Meanwhile, the Democrats barely won enough seats to maintain control of the Senate.
Although the Republicans seized control of the House, a long-predicted "red wave" of support for the party of Lincoln never took place. Republicans are projected to end up with a 7-seat majority (221-214) rather than the 15-20-seat edge many expected.
Former President Donald Trump said he found the results "disappointing," after seeing mixed results from dozens of candidates he endorsed, while US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the Republicans never promised any sort of a "red wave" in the elections.
"I think Democrats held their own in the midterms, but they did it in spite of themselves. They are no strategic masterminds with a great way to reach voters. They didn't do a masterful job. It's because of where we are now," Watley said. "We're dealing with once-in-a-lifetime circumstances - including the overturning of abortion protections and COVID-19."
On top of that, Watley said the high turnout of voters from young people aged 18-25 years, also called Generation Z, have tipped the election scales in favor of the Democrats.
Watley added that voters often do not want to see a change in leadership during hard times or turmoil.
Prior to the midterm elections, US President Joe Biden promised to promote legislation to codify protections for abortions under Federal law if Democrats were granted a majority in both chambers.
Democratic candidates and Biden himself campaigned on the issue of reproductive rights throughout the midterms, which the party's voters ranked as one of their top issues, according to polls.
With respect to future elections, Watley recommends political parties include into their playbooks and engage the Generation Z electorate, which in ten years will become a political force itself, or face a problem.
DEMS LOSING SUPPORT FROM BLACK COMMUNITY
Minority groups, especially African-Americans, have long been a reliable voting segment for the Democratic Party. However, according to AP VoteCast poll, the Democratic Party saw support from Blacks drop by 7 percent in the midterms.
Watley is quite critical of political consultants as a class for their alleged refusal to talk to Black voters and not giving them the same treatment or attention as to White people or Republicans.
Instead of finding ways to speak to Black people, political consultants, in Watley's view, are pursuing and trying to win over white moderates.
"The Democratic political consultant class has not learned their lesson. Voters should be courted, and given a reason to vote... They need to lose a lot to learn the lesson, lose badly, lose everything," Watley said. "They wait until 30 days before elections to engage Black people."
Meanwhile, she added, the Republican playbook is to ensure Black people do not vote at all.
