2018 NOV 19 – DNC Message Guidance
DEMOCRATS WON BIG: At least 40 House seats flipped. 7 governor seats flipped. 8 new legislative majorities picked up this cycle. 4 attorneys general seats flipped. At least 2 secretary of state seats flipped. We broke 5 Republican supermajorities in state legislatures this cycle. 2 Senate seats flipped. And we flipped at least 380 state legislative seats this cycle.
DEMOCRATS EXPANDED THE MAP: Democrats are organizing everywhere, and we organized everywhere early. We’ll continue to expand the map in 2019 and 2020.
- We flipped House seats from upstate New York to Texas to Oklahoma.
- We took back governors’ mansions from Maine to Kansas to New Mexico.
- We flipped state legislative chambers from New Hampshire to Colorado.
DIVERSITY WINS: Democrats believe diversity is a strength. Just look who we elected:
- The first African American women to represent Massachusetts and Connecticut in Congress
- The first Muslim women to serve in the House
- The first Latinas in the House from Texas
- The first Native American women in the House
- The first Native American woman elected statewide in Minnesota
- The first openly gay man elected as governor
- The first woman elected to the Senate from Arizona and second openly LGBTQ senator
- The first Asian American elected to the House from New Jersey
YEAR OF WOMEN: Women are leading the resistance, and they led the Democrats to victory in the House of Representatives and in governorships across the country.
- Exit polling shows that Trump has a 39-60 approve-disapprove rating among women.
- We have flipped at least 40 House seats so far – 24 of those by women.
- We’ve expanded the number of female Democratic governors from two to at least six with wins by Laura Kelly, Janet Mills, Gretchen Whitmer, and Michelle Lujan Grisham.
- We elected 2 female senators with Jacky Rosen and Kyrsten Sinema.
HEALTH CARE #1 ISSUE: That’s what our candidates ran on and that’s what they’ll look forward to working on in Congress.
- Exit polling confirmed that health care is the #1 issue for voters in America, and health care voters went for Democrats by 52 points (75-23).
- Three red states — Utah, Nebraska, and Idaho — voted to expand Medicaid.
GAINS FOR REDISTRICTING: Flipping control of governorships and statehouses is critical to our party’s 2020 redistricting strategy, because they are tasked with redrawing a state’s legislative maps.
- Democrats flipped at least 380 state legislative seats this cycle.
- Democrats flipped 7 governorships in the heartland, the Southwest, and the Northeast.
- Democrats took control of 8 state legislative chambers this cycle.
- Republicans now have unified control over drawing the boundaries of 179 House districts, down from 204 before the election.
NEW REALITY FOR TRUMP: The big loser of the midterms is Donald Trump. His unpopularity hurt Republicans up and down the ballot, and Democrats won back voters who were not satisfied with his agenda.
- Democrats won Senate and governors’ races across the Rust Belt states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin — that helped elect Trump president.
- Trump’s endorsements “meant squat.” At least 40 Trump-backed candidates lost.
- Exit polls made it clear that Trump was on the ballot. Many more voters showed up to oppose him than to support him.
- Voters want a check on the president. They resoundingly spoke out, and flipped at least 40 House seats from red to blue.
Lucas Acosta
@LucasRAcosta
National Broadcast Media Manager
Director of LGBTQ Media
Democratic National Committee