Morning Jolt: This Is about as Bad as It Gets for Virginia Republicans

Urgh.

The coming weeks will feature a lot of Trump-friendly Republicans insisting he has nothing to do with last night's top-to-bottom shellacking of the GOP in Virginia, and a lot of not-so-Trump-friendly Republicans insisting he's got everything to do with the electoral disaster.

If last night had brought a routine disappointment for Republicans -- say, the statewide candidates losing by a few points and only a handful of state assembly seats flipping to the Democrats -- the "blame Trump" argument would be weaker. But last night was the worst night for Republicans in Virginia in a long time. Gillespie lost by the worst margin for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state since 1985. No GOP statewide candidate hit 48 percent. Perhaps more significantly, Republicans entered Election Day with a 17-seat margin in the state assembly and lost at least 13, with seven seats too close to call this morning.

State Representative Bob Marshall represents a district that covers parts of Prince William and Loudon counties. Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe carried this district by a point in 2013 but by 2016, Hillary Clinton carried ...

November 08 2017

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This Is about as Bad as It Gets for Virginia Republicans Urgh. The coming weeks will feature a lot of Trump-friendly Republicans insisting he has nothing to do with last night's top-to-bottom shellacking of the GOP in Virginia, and a lot of not-so-Trump-friendly Republicans insisting he's got everything to do with the electoral disaster. If last night had brought a routine disappointment for Republicans -- say, the statewide candidates losing by a few points and only a handful of state assembly seats flipping to the Democrats -- the "blame Trump" argument would be weaker. But last night was the worst night for Republicans in Virginia in a long time. Gillespie lost by the worst margin for a Republican gubernatorial candidate in the state since 1985. No GOP statewide candidate hit 48 percent. Perhaps more significantly, Republicans entered Election Day with a 17-seat margin in the state assembly and lost at least 13, with seven seats too close to call this morning. State Representative Bob Marshall represents a district that covers parts of Prince William and Loudon counties. Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe carried this district by a point in 2013 but by 2016, Hillary Clinton carried ... READ MORE The Weinstein Intimidation: Hollywood's Real-Life Thriller Kyle Smith The latest revelations about Harvey Weinstein are the strangest ones yet: The movie mogul, Democratic party fundraiser, Hillary Clinton ally, and perennial Oscar darling was, according to the... Trump Punts on an Amnesty Policy You've Never Heard Of Mark Krikorian Trump Punts on an Amnesty Policy You've Never Heard Of ADVERTISEMENT Tim Kaine Is Wrong about America and Slavery Dan McLaughlin Last week's controversy over the causes of the Civil War told us a little bit about White House chief of staff John Kelly and a lot about Virginia senator Tim Kaine. Neither was particularly... Chris Christie: From Landslide Victory to Object Lesson Jonathan S. Tobin It seems as if it happened sometime in the last century, but it was really just four years ago. On November 5, 2013, Chris Christie was reelected as governor of New Jersey in a landslide of epic... The Great Gun Divide Jonah Goldberg Among the many problems with the Great Gun Debate these days is that the pro-gun crowd wants to make it a culture-war battle and the anti-gun crowd wants to pretend that it isn't. On public... Military-Worship Is Bad for the Military David French We now know how the Texas church shooter was able to so easily obtain the weapons he used to slaughter 26 innocent men, women, and children in the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs: The... ADVERTISEMENT The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard Elmore Leonard 'Leonard has penned some of the best western fiction ever.' - USA Today LEARN MORE Top Shots Trump's Asia Trip ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 215 Lexington Ave., New York, NY, 10016, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.