Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. It includes a discussion of state and local politics.
In the past few years, we have seen Democratic primary voters reject members of political dynasties once seen as nearly undefeatable, including a Kennedy in Massachusetts, a Daley in Illinois and a Graham in Florida. When Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey, attempted to swoop into a Senate seat with the help of her husband’s machine, she was blown out of the race by an insurgent who embodied generational change, now-Sen. Andy Kim.
On the right, Donald Trump’s political movement has purged the party’s most storied dynasties. Republican voters spurned members of the Bush family, Jeb and his son George P., in primary elections. The Cheney family’s titanic stature in Wyoming — and a direct-to-camera appeal from Dick Cheney himself — could not save former Rep. Liz Cheney from a primary challenger in 2022. A scheme by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to install his spouse, Casey, as his successor appears to have unraveled before it began.
General election voters have done their part, declining to elect a Pryor in Arkansas, a Landrieu in Louisiana, a Nunn and a Carter in Georgia, a Laxalt in Nevada, a Casey in Pennsylvania and a Clinton on the national ballot.
