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Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand
New book about the 2020 election.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Crazy Card and other Democratic Tactics

At Slate, David Weigel identifies four reasons why incumbent DemocratcMichael Bennet won the Colorado Senate race (h/t Alyssa Roberts):
  • He successfully portrayed GOP candidate Ken Buck as crazy.
  • A competitive primary honed his campaign skills.
  • The state GOP melted down with a disastrous gubernatorial candidate.
  • Hispanic turnout was robust.
Weigel concludes:

So Bennet found four winning strategies in his come-from-behind win. Only one of them—the crazy card—is likely to help all Democrats in 2012. Another, the Hispanic vote, can only help in places where the Democrats have enough potential Hispanic support to make a difference. Bennet's win may have been the most impressive Democratic upset of the cycle. But good luck to the Democrats who want to clone it.