USU political science professors explain midterm results
Despite losing in several key gubernatorial and Senate races, three Utah State University professors on a Wednesday night panel say Democrats performed as well as they possibly could have.
“When you look at some historical context, the Democratic party actually fared pretty well in this election,” said Michael Lyons, an associate professor of political science. “Given that the economy is as robust as it is and we are not at war and there wasn’t a major scandal, I think the Democratic Party fared about as well as you would expect.”
Lyons attributed the Democratic losses in states like Indiana and Texas to President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies in those states.
“The Democrats seemed to be underperforming in a number of states that were projected to be very close, and they appeared to be states that Trump had visited,” Lyons said. “This suggests to me that Trump’s campaign rallies in these states really helped the Republican party enormously.”
Damon Cann, an associate professor of political science, said while Republican voters may wish their representatives would distance themselves from the president, that is unlikely to occur.
“The distance-yourself-from-Trump strategy wasn’t the winning strategy in these elections,” Cann said. “Trump plays well with Republicans in Alabama, he plays well with Republicans around the South, he plays well with Republicans in West Virginia and Republicans in Indiana.”
As for local issues, Cann attributes the four Democratic victories in the state legislature to Proposition 2 –– the legalizing of medical marijuana –– being on the ballot.
“The marijuana proposition is a large part of it,” he said.
While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints voiced opposition to Proposition 2, all three professors on the panel said the support for Prop 2 represents changing attitudes toward marijuana across the nation, as well as a more moderate, secular-leaning future for Utah.
Steve Sharp, a political science instructor specializing in foreign policy, said another reason the proposition received support despite the church’s influence is some voters who wanted marijuana reform, felt like the legislature would never achieve it; though they may have disagreed with the logistics of Prop 2, they supported it nonetheless.
Sharp used an example from one of his classes in which he polled the students.
“Someone suggested the reason he voted for it even though he wasn’t in favor of it was that he didn’t trust the legislature,” Sharp said.
The professors also spoke about Trump’s unconventional behaviors and whether voters can expect to see erratic tweeting and lashing out on television as the new norm.
“Trumpism is about a blustery. Say whatever’s on your mind despite the fact that it’s often inappropriate. For some reason, that is remarkably popular with segments of the Republican Party,” said Cann, who is a Republican himself. “The Republicans trying to appeal to white, lower-middle-class males but also white women who don’t have a college degree, I think that trend probably continues in the Republican Party.”
However, Cann added, “I think much of Trumpism is about Trump, not necessarily about the issues,” and voters can expect to see some of the rhetoric around immigration and racial issues die down.
alison__berg
Overall good analysis. One statement is false though. Maybe the perception is we are not at war Professor Lyons, but in actuality we are currently at war with SEVEN countries. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, & Niger.