Election 2018 post-mortem (live, best, phone)

[SkyDog77]

https://coloradosun.com/2018/11/15/c...ers-poll-2018/

The record turnout among Colorado unaffiliated voters — and their negative view of President Donald Trump — assured disaster for the Republican Party in the midterm election last week, a new poll shows.

One in four unaffiliated voters who voted for Democrat Jared Polis in the governor’s race did so to make statement against Trump and GOP policies. And more broadly, about one third of all unaffiliated voters were less likely to vote for any Republican candidate because of Trump’s influence.

The findings appear in a survey released Thursday by Republican pollster Magellan Strategies that examined the preferences of unaffiliated voters in Colorado as part of a post-mortem examination of the GOP’s “extraordinary” losses.

For the first time in a midterm election, unaffiliated voters in Colorado cast more ballots than either major political party and delivered decisive victories for Democratic candidates, who won all statewide constitutional races and both chambers of the General Assembly — a feat not achieved since 1936.

Unaffiliated voters cast 878,360 ballots as of Tuesday, compared with 849,610 from Democrats and 813,644 from Republicans.

“Time will tell if the 2018 election was an acceleration of the Republican Party’s waning ability to win statewide elections in Colorado, or a sobering period of clarity that sparked a new direction for the GOP,” David Flaherty at Magellan Strategies said.

Either way, he added, “all Colorado Republicans should be worried.”

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[suzco]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

. . .For the first time in a midterm election, unaffiliated voters in Colorado cast more ballots than either major political party and delivered decisive victories for Democratic candidates, who won all statewide constitutional races and both chambers of the General Assembly — a feat not achieved since 1936.

Unaffiliated voters cast 878,360 ballots as of Tuesday, compared with 849,610 from Democrats and 813,644 from Republicans. . .

Do you know of any post election analyses that have looked into whether the fact that this election cycle was our first one where unaffiliated voters were able to vote in the primaries changed the impact of the reported affiliations?

Has that change affected the numbers of voting and/or registered unaffiliated, democrats, and republicans? I know several people (both democrats and republicans), who changed their registration to unaffiliated, since they were still able to vote in the primary of their choice.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by suzco

Do you know of any post election analyses that have looked into whether the fact that this election cycle was our first one where unaffiliated voters were able to vote in the primaries changed the impact of the reported affiliations?

Has that change affected the numbers of voting and/or registered unaffiliated, democrats, and republicans? I know several people (both democrats and republicans), who changed their registration to unaffiliated, since they were still able to vote in the primary of their choice.

I was wondering the same thing since I have been considering switching to independent as there is no benefit to being party affiliated for me anymore.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I was wondering the same thing since I have been considering switching to independent as there is no benefit to being party affiliated for me anymore.

If you do, welcome to the club. Happily unaffiliated since 1992.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I was wondering the same thing since I have been considering switching to independent as there is no benefit to being party affiliated for me anymore.

And would you then receive fewer or twice as many campaign phone calls, mailings, outreach during campaigns?

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by suzco

And would you then receive fewer or twice as many campaign phone calls, mailings, outreach during campaigns?

Fewer-to-none. My wife's a registered Democrat and nearly all of the political junk mail and robocalls came addressed to her.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by suzco

And would you then receive fewer or twice as many campaign phone calls, mailings, outreach during campaigns?

I have not been affiliated with a party ever, and voting since 1970. I still get lots of campaign mail, phone calls and door knocking. In fact, I told one woman at the door that she was the 3rd to come by for that candidate who I was intending to vote for, but if anyone else came I would change my vote to the opponent. The campaign mail went directly into the recyling bin. When I got a campaign phone call, regardless of the candidate I would hang up on them. This particular election the campaigning got way out of hand. I do the research and vote for the best person, and will not be influenced by the propaganda and negative campaigning.

[Westerner92]

This election really was a disaster for Colorado Republicans. I grew up steeped in one of the most Republican parts of the country, and I’ve only been of voting age and politically active in the post-Tea Party era. It seems like every election anymore is basically a referendum on their brand of conservatism, and Colorado conservatives don’t seem to respond well to it. Coloradans are experimenters, not social crusaders.

I’m quite curious what the new Democrat trifecta will do. If they do a portion of what they’ve promised while Republicans stand their losing ground on the culture wars, I imagine they’ll be tightening their grip on the state and inevitably become more ineffective and/or corrupt like the two-party, first-past-the-post system is wont to do.

If I were a Colorado conservative, I’d start advocating for a preferential voting system where I could vote for a true fiscal conservative first and put the (R) candidate as second choice, without risking the Democrats winning. Our voter initiative process certainly makes it a realistic proposition here.

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I was wondering the same thing since I have been considering switching to independent as there is no benefit to being party affiliated for me anymore.

I did it a few months ago.

[davebarnes]

I am now unaffiliated.
But, over the last 20 years I have switched party registration constantly.
Sometimes for positive reasons and sometimes to ratf--k a party's primary.
Now, what is the point? As an un, I get both ballots and toss one in the trash.