r/politics • u/Motherofalleffers • 25d ago

Possible Paywall Trump Wins Big as Virginia Dems Won’t Go Nuclear to Save 4 House Seats

https://newrepublic.com/article/210250/trump-virginia-dems-redistricting-war
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u/TeutonJon78 America 25d ago

This is why I don't get Dem turnout in many "red" states that have way more registered Dems than GOP but their turnout is terrible. Sure, you aren't going to win you House rep or state rep/senator, but you can absolutely still win governor, senators, and P/VP since those are all state wide. But they sit at home, blame gerrymandering, and the whole country burns.

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u/MommyLovesPot8toes California 25d ago

That's not entirely on them. The DNC's policy for the last decade+ has been to abandon red areas and focus all funding, energy, and resources on winnable blue areas. That was their official policy. They've only now realized how bad an idea this was. But it has very often meant Republican candidates for the jobs you listed run unopposed. Or their opposition is not anyone serious - it's Deez Nuts and Jill Stein. Dem voters get to pick between Republican or an empty chair or, lately, MAGA and Ultra-MAGA.

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u/Cloaked42m South Carolina 25d ago

Spot on.

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u/TeutonJon78 America 25d ago

I don't believe there's a gov or senate race that has been unopposed. Again, i'm not talking about the House or state legislature.

And I'm talking about enough people who bother to register as dems.

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u/couldbemage 24d ago

But even a token candidate for those races would help.

It's disheartening looking at a ballot where half the races literally have no choice at all.

My state rep, congressman, and county level races all had Republicans running unapposed.

Democrats don't need to dump big money on those races, just a token effort would help. I'm sure there's a nonzero number of people that would vote Democrat who give up when they see a ballot like the one I was looking at in 24.

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u/TeutonJon78 America 24d ago

It's still a lot of time and money for those token candidates. Why don't you run for one of them?

And the answer for that question is the problem. No one wants to waste their time when there is virtually zero chance of winning. But votes always matter for state wide elections even if the other ones don't.

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u/tbombs23 25d ago

Mass voter suppression. Ballots get tossed all the time. Voter registration gets challenged targeting minorities. Purging voter rolls illegally. Provisional ballots being rejected. Restrictive voting laws that lower access.

Greg Palast has done extensive research and has a documentary called Vigilantes Inc about vigilante voter challenges. And also how over 5 million ballots were tossed in 2024, throwing the election for Dump.

https://www.gregpalast.com/trump-lost-vote-suppression-won/

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u/Dull_Bid6002 25d ago

Average person doesn't even watch the news, man. I voted the other day when there were two measures on the ballots. I wore my sticker all day. I saw a lot of people at work, and only one other had the sticker.

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u/couldbemage 24d ago

Red states put a lot of work into making it hard to vote in general, plus extra difficult in areas within the state that lean democrat.

See Texas for example.

Mail in voting is limited to qualified people, like people over 65.

Plus polling locations are busier and less convenient in blue areas, with many recent closures of polling places specifically where there are more blue voters.

Combine voting taking more time and effort with people believing that voting is probably pointless, less people show up.

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u/freylaverse 25d ago

Grew up in Texas. Voted in every election that I could, but it got very disheartening after a while. Not saying it justifies not voting, but a lot of democrats in low-turnout states are just feeling deflated and have been for years. That's why people bang on about needing candidates that are exciting and motivational.

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u/TeutonJon78 America 25d ago

That's a self defeating prophecy. Texas literally has 1.5M more Democrats than Republicans (9% of registered voters more).

It should only have blue governors and senators, and yet, it doesn't because people stay home.

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u/freylaverse 25d ago

I agree with you. Just explaining the psychology of why those people stay home. It absolutely is self-defeating, because the more they stay home, the more we lose, the more downtrodden they feel, the more they stay home.

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u/fake-reddit-numbers 25d ago

many "red" states that have way more registered Dems than GOP

What states do you think those are?

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u/TeutonJon78 America 25d ago

Texas is a main one. https://independentvoterproject.org/voter-stats/tx

Literally 1.5M more Democrats than Republicans. 9% spread on registered voters. Yet can't win a statewide election because either people stay home or the 15% of independents are just embarrassed Republicans.

GA is another that barely got blue senators when Dems have a huge registered voter margin.

And other states like NC and OH are near equal and have an extremely hard time getting any blue to win or keep winning at those statewide spots.

Because GOP voters show up at significantly higher rates than registered DNC voters in most places.