Republicans do incredibly well in state/local governments because of gerrymandering, and the way certain districts have been formed. There’s obviously more to it than just gerrymandering, but that’s one of the biggest reasons they’ve been able to capitalize on state governments and the House of Representatives.
Due to the Republican controlled house as well as gubernatorial victories , the party has been able to redraw districts to their choosing. This means the party has outlined districts that are heavily concentrated in farming and uneducated areas of the US, districts containing a large amount of Christian right supporters (those who oppose Abortion, gay rights, etc…), and on districts which have showed a large opposition to President Obama.
The advantage of cornering the more agriculturally based districts and uneducated districts is that those demographics tend to agree more with the Republican party (in recent years). They’re angry at the US government for not doing anything about 1. Businesses relocating costing hundreds of thousands of jobs and 2. Foreigners taking up the remaining jobs in the US. This demographic will also more often believe the propaganda the Republican party has been churning out through Fox News. Because most of these people are farmers or have jobs that don’t require as much of an educational background, they will believe that Obama was “born in Kenya”, or Hillary Clinton, after seven different hearings, is still responsible for the deaths of four US servicemen after she’s been cleared of wrong doing. These people will most likely vote Republican in elections, and targeting these districts where those voters have a majority gives a huge advantage to the GOP.
Next, the Republican Party, over the past 20 years has appealed to the Christian right, giving in on positions which have brought religion into government (grr). The Christian right will most likely not be voting for a Democrat who supports gay marriage, or a woman’s right to choose, or the legalization of marijuana. These voters will be looking for a candidate who reflects their views within the Republican party, and redrawing districts, to give a majority to this demographic, ensures a Republican victory.
Finally, Republicans have been able to capitalize on the uneducated and the Christian right, inciting these voters into becoming an incredibly angry and frustrated demographic. These voters want a dramatic change, which has manifested itself into the perfect candidate: an outsider who in truth has no idea how to rule a country, no idea how to run a business, and no idea how to speak about any person without oozing some disrespectful or hateful language.
On the national level, the Republicans aren’t as strong in large general elections because these types of elections are no longer dependent on small districts containing a very slim segment of the population. The general election, instead, takes into account an entire state, which includes black voters, hispanic voters, and general voters of the Democratic party.
Districts containing minority groups are usually concentrated in urban areas, and have a fairly easy time electing a Democrat. When we add up the total votes in a state, for example a swing state such as Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Ohio, or North Carolina, generally democrats outperform Republicans because minority groups are more likely to vote Democrat. Further, Dems do fairly well with Independents ( depending on the candidate and the economic and political attitude in the given period of time).
Of course, that’s not to say Republicans always lose the general election, this is far from true, but the political climate is changing and the way the electoral map is drawn makes it difficult for any Republican to win (especially Trump).
Leave a comment if you agree, disagree, or agree to disagree.
Thanks,
Emmanuel
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