Washington Post column: Midterms looking ‘much better’ for Democrats because of Trump

After months of polling that showed a red wave could be imminent, Democrats could see a possible comeback in the midterms, according to a Washington Post column.

"Suddenly, the 2022 midterms are looking much better for Democrats, and there’s a simple explanation: Donald Trump is back on the ballot, metaphorically speaking," columnist Dana Milbank wrote on Monday.

Describing the recent shift as a "historical anomaly," Milbank noted that momentum has shifted in the direction of an incumbent president’s party late in the game of an election year—for the first time in modern history.

The Post columnist, citing data from FiveThirtyEight, showed that Democrats now hold a 0.5-point advantage over Republicans in the generic ballot, where they trailed by 2.7 points earlier this year.

There is only one reason behind this shift, wrote Milbank, and that is Trump and conservative media.

"Their violent talk (followed by threats and actual violence), their attacks on the rule of law (destroy the FBI), their conspiracy theories (the FBI planted evidence?) and their reckless defense of the indefensible (possibly pilfering nuclear secrets) are all reruns of the Trump presidency. Republican officials did much the same when faced with the damning revelations of the Jan. 6 committee," Milbank wrote.

Foregoing the knowledge that Democrats themselves have boosted Trump-backed candidates, the Post columnist also laid blame on "extremist candidates" dominating Republican primaries.... (Read more)

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