RALEIGH, U.S., November 10. The specter of Donald Trump is still keeping many independent and some Republican voters in the Democratic camp as opposed to going back to Republicans, Asher Hildebrand, associate professor of the practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy, told Trend November 9 on the sidelines of the briefing on the midterm elections held November 8.
“If that specter were removed, then it's unclear whether Democrats would have a majority coalition nationally or in specific states. And so I think, even though Democrats can take much encouragement from the results last night, as they look ahead to 2024 thinking about how to broaden the appeal beyond just their core base to keep voters, for example, white suburban women who have voted Democrat in recent years, but are not necessarily core Democratic supporters, to keep them in the fold. You know, I think that's what's on the minds of Democrats,” he explained.
Hildebrand pointed out that for Republicans the big question is Donald Trump.
“And I think there's still very much feeling among Republican leaders that they don't want to cross Trump or his supporters to directly. Last night to me was pretty clearly evidence that Trump's political power is waning, and that his presence is a liability for many Republican candidates. They may still win because of structural advantages because of polarization. But they're winning less than they could if Donald Trump wasn't a part of the ticket. And so what do they do about that? Do they coalesce around Ron DeSantis? Or another alternative, do they? Or do they rally back to support Donald Trump? I think that's going to be the big question of the next two years for Republicans,” he added.