Democrats Counting on ‘Trump Effect’ to Help Retake Statehouses
- Party seeks to chip away at historic Republican dominance
- Trump could keep Republicans home and motivate Latinos, women
Voters wait in line to cast ballots at a polling station inside Broken Gound Elementary School in Concord, New Hampshire, on Feb. 9, 2016.
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/BloombergDemocrats say Donald Trump’s presence atop the Republican ticket will help stem a tide of electoral defeats that put Republicans in charge of statehouses across the U.S. and in control of taxes, social issues and district lines that preserve their majorities.
Trump will affect not only U.S. Senate and House races, but help Democrats reach majorities in as many as 10 legislative chambers and also sway gubernatorial contests in states including North Carolina and New Hampshire, many in the party say. Democratic candidates and state parties are pressing Republicans about Trump and plan to tie them to his agenda during their campaigns.