TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Election night appeared to be a graphic demonstration of how voters react when policies reach into their pockets. Now how will Democrats use the power voters handed them…and how will Republicans try to recover?
“I think over the next two years, the Democrats are going to have to find a way to respond to some of the complaints that led to the Republicans' losses yesterday, and that is primarily the economy, gas prices, cost of living. That needs to be day one what they're focusing on.“
University of Arizona Political Scientist Doctor Samara Klar says voters acted on their disappointment with President Trump and the economic effect of his policies and Democrats succeeded despite warring factions inside the party and lack of clear party leaders.
She says Democrats will need to stay focused on the economy and resist the temptation to use their House and Senate majorities to launch investigations and impeachment drives.
“Polling suggests that voters are tired of scandal and drama and tension and conflict in Washington. They want their cost of living to be back to where they expect it to be. And to the extent that I have seen Democratic candidates asked about this. There doesn't seem to be a big appetite for impeachment and for a lot of drama in Washington. So you know we'll see what happens. But I think the Democrats got the memo. What they need to do is policy, and we'll see if that happens.”
And she says now the parties are starting to line up their postures for winning the White House in 2028.
“So we're going to start to see who are the leaders, who's the leader of the Democratic Party. Are the nominees going to come from the more moderate moderate section of the Democrats? Are they going to come more from the progressive wing? I think the same thing can be asked of the Republicans: Is JD Vance the future of the Republican Party? Are there going to be candidates emerging that we haven't even thought of yet? I think yesterday showed us that anything is kind of possible. It may have been a bit of a blank slate for both parties, and we don't know what is going to happen in 2028. So it's going to be around faster than we realize.
