Democrat Jon Ossoff lost his race against Republican Karen Handel despite a money advantage and a Republican president with job approval ratings averaging less than 40 percent. Ossoff’s campaign spent nearly $30 million, and it wasn’t enough to win, despite the favorable circumstances.
Democrats have been looking for scapegoats ever since their defeat on Tuesday, but couldn’t find any. After all, Ossoff is white, straight and male. Democrats could not blame sexism, racism or homophobia, so some were left to bemoan the inclement weather as a culprit in not enough Democrats getting out to vote. People are arguing the race is a major factor in determining whether or not President Trump is a hindrance or liability for Republicans.
The fact is, neither candidate invoked the president. Karen Handel didn’t mention Trump until she gave her victory speech. Ossoff’s ads never mentioned the president and neither did any of the spots aired by outside Democratic groups.
The problem for Democrats is not money, Trump, or, even as some suggest, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The problem for Democrats is they suffer from a cultural detachment in the South and areas of the Midwest. Until they are willing to accept candidates that don’t adhere to left-wing orthodoxy promulgated by the party at the national level, they’ll keep losing, just like they did in Georgia and South Carolina.
Contrary to the false narrative many helped build about people who live in the south, many of them are not the all-encompassing right-wing fanatics people make them out to be. They are sympathetic to Democratic positions on issues such as healthcare, entitlements and the economy.
Trump won big in the South because he stressed economic issues above all else, but he aligned himself with voters on cultural issues such as abortion and the Second Amendment. People in the South have concerns with trade practices, NAFTA and the lack of manufacturing jobs. But they also have guns to protect their homes and go to the range from time to time to shoot. They also sympathize with the unborn, and when Democrats condescendingly dismiss their concerns with a finger wag or adhere to Pelosi-held viewpoints, they look to Republicans.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, ran to replace Pelosi as the House minority leader in January but was unsuccessful. However, he recognizes the problem Democrats have, and he said as much on “Morning Joe” on Thursday:
Ryan specifically mentions the Democrats fielding candidates who align with Democrats on economic policy but break from the national party on cultural issues. Unfortunately, for some on the left, they foolishly believe Ossoff lost because he didn’t run far enough to the left. Here’s Sally Kohn:
Best thing that could come out of the #GA06 results is for Democratic Party to finally give up its self-destructive obsession with centrism
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) June 21, 2017
It’s absurd for her to think a Bernie Sanders-type candidate, one that would be far to the left on cultural issues, will win over enough votes to take a seat in Congress held by Republicans since 1979. It is not about being “centrist” so much as it is finding a candidate who matches up well with the people they want to represent.
Democrats have to change how they recruit candidates to run in the south and midwest. If they keep using the same playbook, there will be plenty of moral victories, but it will be Republicans taking oaths of office.
Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the assistant managing editor at RedState, as well as a contributor to National Review and The Atlantic.
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