Democrat Rob Quist lost the Montana special election Thursday, but that didn’t stop Democrats nationwide from saying that the loss was actually a win.
Vox Editor Matt Yglesias published an article Friday morning asserting that because Republican Greg Gianforte didn’t win by a large enough margin, the election was actually a great sign for Democrats.
Republicans need to win places like Montana by 11 or more to hold the House, winning by 7 is a danger sign. https://t.co/Z3VbcjH18k
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 26, 2017
Republicans vastly outspent Democrats in a relatively safe Republican seat, according to the Cook Political Report. Democrats also out-performed expectations by 12 percent in the Kansas special election, and 7 percent in the Georgia primary.
Gianforte won by 7 points. Many expected Quist to earn only 39 percent of the vote, but he came away with 44 percent.
The MT-AL result is consistent with Republicans facing a very bad national climate https://t.co/Z3VbcjH18k pic.twitter.com/GLPo0Legz3
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 26, 2017
Vox Editor Ezra Klein went so far as to say that if Republicans “underperform as badly, they’ll lose the House.”
Democrats would’ve liked to win Montana, but if R’s underperform elsewhere as badly, they’ll lose the House: https://t.co/YIXnD0Tq8q
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 26, 2017
Center for American Progress Director Neera Tanden, CNBC reporter John Harwood, and former Clinton staffer Christina Reynolds retweeted Klein’s assertion.
The Cook analysis cautions that the 2017 special elections have no incumbents, making them easier to flip than the vast majority of vulnerable House seats in the 2018 midterm elections, something that the Vox editor does not mention.
Chair of the Republican Party of Virginia John Whitbeck said that the fact that Republicans held the seat is proof that the Democratic narrative that the party is on the run is false.
KS, GA, NE now #MTAL. #MSM narrative about @gop is blowing up one state at a time
— John Whitbeck (@JohnWhitbeck) May 26, 2017
Great job @GOP & @GOPChairwoman on another big win in ’17 specials
— John Whitbeck (@JohnWhitbeck) May 26, 2017
President Donald Trump won the state by a 21 percent lead over Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and the president campaigned heavily for Gianforte in a Wednesday statewide robocall.
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