Election 2018

RNC Poll: GOP Voters Are Complacent Because of Trump

Written by SK Ashby

While most polling tell us Democrats are in a very strong position heading into the midterm elections, Democratic voters should not become complacent. They certainly shouldn't become as complacent or outright delusional as many Republican voters apparently are.

Businessweek obtained the results of an internal poll conducted for the Republican National Committee (RNC) that found that at least half of GOP voters don't believe the polls.

Moreover, half of GOP voters believe a red wave is coming, not a blue wave.

If overconfident Republican voters stay home, Democrats could win a landslide. The report urges GOP officials to yank their voters back to reality: “We need to make real the threat that Democrats have a good shot of winning control of Congress.” [...]

The internal RNC study finds that complacency among GOP voters is tied directly to their trust in the president—and their distrust of traditional polling. “While a significant part of that lack of intensity is undoubtedly due to these voters’ sentiments toward the President, it may also be partly because they don’t believe there is anything at stake in this election,” the authors write.

Republicans officials who want to "yank their voters back to reality" have a very big problem on their hands: Trump

Trump has repeatedly told crowds at his rallies that a "red wave" is coming. He told them what they wanted to hear and they believed it.

We can't say for certain that Democrats will regain control of either chamber of Congress, but I think we can say there will be no "red wave." Republicans are going to lose seats. How many seats they lose will depend entirely on turnout.

As far as I know, there's no one comparable to Trump on the left that's telling Democrats voters that victory is assured.