The top map shows the county by county voting for president. It shows red for a staggering amount of land mass of the country (map from decodedscience.com). However, the Republicans lost the presidential election in both the popular vote (47% to 50%) and quite decisively, the electoral college (206 to 332) as shown by the 2nd map (map from freedomslighthouse.net). The Republicans won 24 states and the Democrats won 26. And of the ten "swing" states Republicans were 0 for 10. The House of Representatives stayed solidly in Republican hands, while they had a net loss in the senate and lost control of more governorships and state houses than they won this year. So the Democrats might be feeling confident, but that top map and the results of the house races should give them pause also. And they the fact they won 26 states and lost 24 in the Presidential race means they are well short of a mandate themselves. So we are a divided country and although you only need a plurality to win, you need to form a consensus among everyone in order to rule effectively.
The parties also need to realize that television does not win elections anymore. Social media and a more personal approach do. I was struck by this fact: Following the two nominating conventions, the presidential and vice presidential candidates this year made personal campaign appearances in only ten states before election day. In 1960, John Kennedy appeared in 49 states (only missing Alaska) and Richard Nixon appeared in all fifty states between their conventions and election day. The electoral college matters, but the president does represent us all. Campaign like every vote in every state counts and maybe a state you have written off might not be a write off. Make an appearance, and maybe you pick up enough votes to swing that state to your side. Make an appearance in a state solidly in your corner so that you keep in that way and maybe get some carryover into a state that is not in your column. Make every state a battle ground state and see how the opposition reacts. Also those appearances might help state and local candidates in your party, making the party stronger on the whole, which will benefit you and the party for years to come. In essence, the top of the ticket candidates need to be more of a team player, lending their support down the ticket in order to gain the support of everyone on the ticket.
I really don't want to see the beginnings of the 2016 Presidential race already, but with the appearance of Republican Sen. Mark Rubio in Iowa this past week , it appears we are off and running. With both parties looking for fresh blood, hopefully this election cycle will allow both parties to stake new positions and territories which will be more inclusive and lead to a more positive discord as we go along. We the voters will have to hold candidates of all parties accountable and responsible to us, because just maybe we have become our worst enemy by not standing up for ourselves in the past and letting party leaders and a select number of special interest groups dictate to us who the candidates will be and what positions they will take and how their campaigns are run. It looks like we will have a four year period in order to hear each candidate and their stanches on the issues. Let us make use of that time wisely, to poke and prod and not make snap judgments. And to force each candidate to defend and promote themselves rather than run a negative campaign against their opponents. We have the ultimate say in how these campaigns are run by our support ,either with money or time, and eventually at the ballot box.
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