Both major U.S. political parties recently held party conferences planning their strategies for the 2018 campaign. The stakes are high: control of the U.S. House of Representatives and, possibly, the U.S. Senate, as well as two-thirds of all state governorships. …
Given the political parties’ limited time and resources, to make their points, each will most likely target only two compelling messages for their national battle plan. The economic outlook issue is usually front and center in every campaign, and as of today, the advantage on the economy seems to be with the Republicans for 2018.
The Democrats have more messaging energy from traditionally secondary topics like policies for the poor, race relations and income distribution. Even though the midterm elections are eight months out, gun control could become a strong new message by November. The big question for Democrats is: Will focusing primarily on opposition to Trump be sufficient to ensure victory in 2018? CONT.
V. Lance Tarrance, Gallup