At the beginning of this year, Maine Democrats were excited. Republican Sen. Susan Collins is up for re-election, and deeply unpopular. They knew they had a strong chance of dethroning her. But then, Graham Platner won the state’s Democratic primary — and turned out to be so disastrous and disturbed that he had to drop out.
In Michigan, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is retiring. It’s a midterm election under an unpopular Republican president, so Democrats should have a relatively easy time holding onto his seat. Yet the winner of the Democratic primary, Abdul El-Sayed, is so dangerous that even prominent Michigan Democrats are supporting his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. They’re no fans of Rogers, but they know that El-Sayed is far worse. (See my Wall Street Journal column.)
Both Democrats beat out capable, sensible primary opponents. They didn’t win by offering better solutions. They won by weaponizing grievance, feeding falsehoods to their base, and stoking raw outrage against the other side.
If you’re facing candidates you don’t love, you’re in a lot of good company. Americans in general are increasingly fed up with the candidates and both major parties. How is this happening?
It’s not politics as usual. In the new episode, I break down what the data shows, and explain how we’re trapped in a vicious cycle — driven largely by the media. If we don’t get ourselves out of it, the country could fall apart. We’re already losing a sense of national identity.
In the exclusive graphics below, made just for They Stand Corrected, you’ll see the hard data on the new force shaping politics. Also ahead: why the conventional wisdom on primary voters is wrong, and how their emotions are being manipulated.
First, look at how
