In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday, New York Times columnist David Brooks said that no matter who the GOP nominee is in 2016, they will start out “on a level playing field” with Hillary Clinton.
Brooks added to the CNN host that he indeed thinks Clinton can be beat in a general election, even though things look grimmer for the Republican Party in the long run as far as demographics are concerned. The columnist made the comment after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would indeed beat Clinton in a general election if he launches a campaign.
TAPPER: Christie says, if he runs, he will beat Hillary. But as you know and have written about at length, the demographics are very tough for the Republican Party. Do you think any of these Republicans can beat her?
BROOKS: Yea. There’s no question it’s stacked against them because every growing group in the growing group in the country is a Democratic group. If the electorate of the future was made up of 68-year-old white men in Florida, the Republicans would be doing awesome. But it’s not. But in the near term, there are couple things helping the Republicans. First, the graying of the electorate is helping counterbalance the browning of the electorate. As people get older, they get a little more Republican. Second, the white working class is now shifting overwhelmingly in the Republican direction. So you’re seeing a lot of states with heavy immigration populations like Tennessee, Georgia, Texas — they’re not going Democrat the way many of us thought. They’re turning Republican. So at least in the near term, I do think the Republican nominee, whoever that happens to be, starts out on a level playing level. Over the long term, much better news for the Democrats.