Democrats are on a roll: Heres how to ride the wave to November – The Hill

The 2022 primary season is finally waning down. With only a handful of races left to be decided, Democratic chances of keeping their majorities in the U.S. House and Senate and winning key state and local races in November are growing, thanks to a strong field of highly qualified candidates with records of leadership and problem-solving who embrace moderate positions.

In contrast, in several key states and races across the country, Republican primary voters have nominated far-right extremists who in many cases embrace defeated former President Donald Trumps false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election and was robbed of victory by both Republican and Democratic state and local officials who rigged the election.

Many of these radical Republicans have never run for office before and are less qualified for government positions than I am to be an NFL quarterback. Still, Democrats must become much more aggressive in talking to and motivating voters of all backgrounds to support them this fall.

Here are a few of my recommendations to Democratic campaign managers and others working across the country.

First, take our campaigns directly to Democratic, Republican and Independent voters using GOTV, which stands for Get Out the Vote drives, not just Go On Television. Focus particular attention on people who often skip voting in midterm elections. The time to begin these voter drives is now, not two weeks before Election Day. We should remember that millions of people will start votingnext monthand many more will be voting absentee in October. Again, this is a big change from the pre-pandemic years.

Second, Democrats have positive cases to focus on, including the major achievements of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats in Congress, including:

Third, remind voters that the disruption and deaths caused by the pandemic are easing, gasoline prices haveplummetedby more than $1 a gallon since June, inflation isslowing, the unemployment rateis downtoonly 3.5 percentin July (the lowest since before the pandemic), supply chain bottlenecks areclearing up, Biden has rallied the world in support of Ukraine against Russian aggression and expanded the NATO alliance, and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri waskilledin a U.S. drone strike ordered by Biden.

Lastly, Democrats mustdraw attention to how millions of Americans would suffer if Republicans take control of one or both chambers of Congress or state houses because of the GOPs radical positions of opposing the common sense solutions discussed above. It needs to be stressed that all of these accomplishments took place while Democrats held a razor-thin majority in the House and had to deal with an evenly split Senate. Under the circumstances, the Democrats legislative achievements are truly astonishing, but further progress will be impossible if Republicans make even minimal gains in November.

In primary races, Trump has attacked Republicans who might be able to win general election campaigns and thrown his support to sycophantic candidates who accept his Big Lie that he was reelected two years ago and shower him with praise. This has producednomineespopular with Trumps base but not with the rest of the electorate.

Some Trump-endorsed candidates who have won their partys nominations have said they would haverefusedto certify Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential race and have given indications they would declare Trump the winner if he runs in 2024 regardless of what voters decide. They dont just oppose Democrats; they oppose democracy.

In addition, some Republican nominees have called forendingentitlement funding for Social Security and Medicare (meaning funding could be cut), advocated forreduced aidto public schools, called for sugarcoating American history in public schools to cover up the role ofracism, and favortax cutsfor the rich that would result in soaring deficits and less funding for vital programs.

The Republican civil war fueled by Trump has left the party disunited, with Republicans like Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is term-limited, saying he will not vote for Dan Cox, the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee for governor. Hoganhas calledCox a nut and a QAnon whack job who is not, in my opinion, mentally stable. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has decried the sadcandidate qualityof the current crop of GOP nominees.

To take advantage of the weak GOP field, Democrats must focus on the issues and put party labels aside to demonstrate to voters which party can accomplish the most for the American people. From fighting inflation to getting people vaccinated to reopening schools and repairing roads, bridges and tunnels, to connecting every community, its Democrats who are driving forward and looking at the road ahead, while many Republicans are focused on the rearview mirror and Trumps election defeat.

These developments, along with the willingness of Democrats to campaign everywhere, should leave the party optimistic that, unlike in most midterm elections, the party in the White House will come out stronger in November. The mixture of a marvelously productive two years for Democrats and the weakness of Republican nominees has created the opportunity for historic wins in 2022. We need to grasp that opportunity.

Donna Brazile is a political strategist, a contributor to ABC News and former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She is the author of Hacks: Inside the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House.

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Democrats are on a roll: Heres how to ride the wave to November - The Hill