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As an ignorant foreigner, I figured every president had to face at least nominal primary challengers for their second term.
What’s the process for deciding if a sitting president has to face primary challengers? Is it just a question of nobody else putting their names forward, or does a vote have to be taken somewhere?
So who do you want Trump to chew up John Kasich or Bill Kristol?
I guess I know where I will be in the Winter of 2020.
Either. I would also be happy with Ben Sasse, Jeff Flake or Milt Romney.
I would be ecstatic with Nikki Haley.
This is an unpersuasive final paragraph Michael.
First, how about addressing Trump “supporters”? I know the belittling Trump “fans” is Weekly Standard house style, but it is unserious considering the 90% support the man has within the GOP.
Second, where does this newly minted metric of “bipartisan support” come from? In 2011, Obama enjoyed 2% support from Republicans. Didn’t exactly doom his chances in 2012. Cratering support from independents in swing states would be a danger zone indicator. Democratic support is irrelevant.
Unfortunately for the GOP they are usually outnumbered by Democrats. That means that the margin for error is smaller. GOP candidates have to have a broader appeal than their Democratic opponents in many states to win. This dynamic is also observed at the national level. Hence the problem of only having appeal within the party.
Graham was probably assuming his audience knew more on the topic and so he didn’t mention it.
I don’t disagree but that appeal is increased by appealing to independent voters not to registered Democrats, certainly not active Democrats. Republicans don’t win elections with the votes of registered Democrats. They turn out the Republican coalition (itself broader than the Democrats) and win independents. “Bipartisan support” is an empty concept except for electoral fantasies like Weaverism.
Good piece breaking down (and breaking up) Kasich’s “support” by Henry Olsen at NR.
George W. Bush won 6% of the Democratic vote. Apart from the South that share might have been 2-3%. Trump and Clinton each traded 8% of the other party’s vote.
If a centrist Democrat with a common sense agenda were aiming for a larger share of the GOP than Trump might win from Democrats this might matter.
No chance of that my friend.
Making his primary rivals look impotent last time was his great strength last time, so yeah, doing it again with primary challengers would be an asset to him.
Assuming, of course, his challengers haven’t learned a thing by then.
The 40% landslide percentage — smaller than the 40.6% that Walter Mondale won in his one-state 1984 election failure…