Matt Rourke/AP Photo
In Charleston on Tuesday night
OK, Democrats have been whacking away at each other, and nobody won the last debate except Trump. But take a good look at the numbers and think hard about them state by state, where elections are won or lost.
Several of the serious contenders for the Democratic nomination could beat Trump. Recent polls show Sanders, Warren, and Biden all beating him.
Hardcore Trump support hovers in the mid-40s on a good day, and that is unlikely to increase. Once Democrats get past their July convention and pick a nominee, there will be more than three months of head-to-head against Trump. And plenty of swing voters are disgusted with this president.
The states that Hillary Clinton narrowly lost to Trump in the accident-prone election of 2016—Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan—will all be in play. So will Arizona, maybe Florida, and North Carolina as well. Of the states that Clinton narrowly won, only Virginia and Minnesota seem at risk in worst-case scenarios.
Several of the states vulnerable to Republican voting fraud, notably Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina, now have Democratic governors. So yes, it’s painful to see the Demo-lition derby, but this too shall pass. Don’t despair—this guy is definitely beatable.