The Supreme Court last week released a decision slashing a key Voting Rights Act protection meant to ensure the power of votes coming from minority communities. In effect, the Court said states do not have to take into account racial data when making maps of House districts. Eight states have already enacted new maps ahead of the midterms. The moves give Republicans a slight edge, but legal challenges are on the horizon. Democrats, meanwhile, are looking at matching the GOP’s maximalist approach and see 22 seats in blue states they may target with nakedly political ambition to offset the 19 seats they could lose to Republicans in red states.
Nationally, the enthusiasm gap is epic; according to ABC News-Washington Post polling, Democrats have a 14-point advantage in enthusiasm, the biggest since Democrats pulled up their win in 2006. All the while, the President continues with the kind of threats, actions, and rhetoric that is making life tougher for his nominal friends in the Republican Party. It’s easy to understand why Democrats are eager to punch their screens while Republicans seem, at best, duty-bound.
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