Trump, the Democratic GOTV machine
by digby
Last June, for the first time in 48 years Orange Country California --- the heart of Reagan country --- voted Democratic. And people are still registering as Democrats in droves. Guess why?
A surge in Democratic voter registration has cut Republicans’ advantage in Orange County to less than 6 percentage points and has doubled the number of Democratic cities over the past year.
The Republican margin has been shrinking since 1990, when the GOP edge was 22 points. But in the past six months, the pace of change has been four times as fast as the 26-year average – due in part to the GOP’s controversial presidential nominee. That could hurt the local Republicans in November’s down-ticket races.
“Donald Trump has become our best marketing tool,” said Henry Vandermeir, chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County. “He’s insulted pretty much every constituency in this county, which has helped drive Democratic registration and turnout to new highs.”
And look who might be in trouble:
Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) road to an eighth re-election has become rockier with the rise in support for the Democratic Marine Corps veteran challenging him this year, the Orange County Register reported.
After winning by at least 30 percentage points in the 2012 and 2014 primaries, Issa only beat Doug Applegate by 5.7 points in the June primary this year. Under the state’s open primary system, Applegate’s performance enabled him to move on and challenge Issa for his seat representing the state’s 49th congressional district in the general election this November.
It's hard to imagine Issa losing but if the Democrats come out to vote for Clinton it could happen.
The Democrats may have to thank Trump when all this is over.
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