08-10-2019, 12:58 AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...story.html
I cut out several concrete examples the authors used to make their points. I think the whole article is worth a read.
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — Republicans face a reckoning in the red-state suburbs that have long been a bedrock for the party, propelled by the stormy confluence of President Trump’s searing racial attacks, economic turbulence and frustration with government inaction after last weekend’s deadly mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.
The GOP lost its House majority in 2018 after it fared poorly with suburban voters, particularly women. Party leaders are increasingly alarmed that they have made little progress winning them back. Instead, Trump’s incessant feuds, his hard-line position on immigration — including federal raids that left children without their parents — and the stock market’s tumult amid his trade standoff with China threaten to further alienate suburban voters ahead of the 2020 campaign, even in states that have traditionally elected Republicans.
Republican leaders also worry that Trump’s dramatic policy moves and Twitter outbursts — such as last month’s racist remarks about four minority women in Congress — could prod more suburban GOP lawmakers to head for the exits rather than mount a defense, following in the footsteps of several Texas Republicans and others who have decided not to seek reelection.
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Republican consultants are advising the White House to make the suburbs in Trump-won states — from the outskirts of Atlanta to the Philadelphia area to the wealthy hubs near Dallas — a priority as the president teeters from crisis to crisis and fight to fight. According to a CityLab analysis, a majority of the 41 seats flipped by Democrats in 2018 were “predominantly suburban.”
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month showed Trump’s approval rating among suburban men at 51 percent, with 46 percent disapproving. But Trump was deeply unpopular with suburban women, with 37 percent approving and 57 percent disapproving of his performance in office.
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Other GOP bastions, such as California’s Orange County, have seen a transition. Officials there said this week that the county has more registered Democrats than Republicans and has seen a surge of nonaffiliated voters.
Anxiety over the suburban outlook is seeping into conversations among top Republican donors. “There is concern with the unknown and what the next tweet is going to be and what that could mean,” said Spencer Zwick, a veteran financier who has advised House GOP leaders.
As gun-control talks take center stage in Washington, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a former FBI agent who represents suburban Philadelphia, said in an interview that “my message to my colleagues is: Don’t allow fear of special-interest groups to stop you from doing the right thing” and supporting expanded background checks and other gun-control measures.
“Whether it’s gun safety, the environment, or LGBT equality, you’ve got to run your own race,” Fitzpatrick said.
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Jessica Starr, a 30-year-0ld mother and unaffiliated voter, looked out at the shopping center around the Whole Foods in Chamblee this week. “You’ve got a changing culture around here,” she said, “young, successful couples, family oriented, but they’re not the kind of people carrying guns around. The baby boomers are still here, but the younger generation is kind of taking over.”
I cut out several concrete examples the authors used to make their points. I think the whole article is worth a read.
