GET ME REWRITE: Political pundits drive off cliff, crash into trees

 

It's another Case of the Quadrennial Democrats.  

In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Glenn Youngkin received 303,739 fewer votes than Trump did in the presidential election, a drop of 15%.

In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Terry McAuliffe received 834,165 fewer votes than BIden did in the presidential election, a drop of 35%.

Pontificate all you want.  An inability to get out of the vote in a non-presidential election year is the key problem for Democrats.

CNN, New York Times 

Screenshot of FiveThirtyEight Morning Districution, 11/5/2021 (box added)

Rachel Maddow to pundits:  Calm down.

“Honestly, what happened here,” Maddow began, “for the past 30 years, every single time we’ve had a new president, that first year of the new president, the president’s party lost both the Virginia governor and New Jersey governor, every single time, except this time the Democrats didn’t lose New Jersey. In a rational world, this would not be a cause for democratic panic. Quite the contrary. Democrats have beat the odds. They’ve done everything that the great communicator, Ronald Reagan did.” 

“Last night, for the first time since the 1980s, Republicans weren’t able to flip those two governorships like the opposing party has been able to do in the first year of every new presidency going all the way back to Poppy Bush. They only got one. Dems held onto the other. Why this scenario should be cause for Democratic freakout is beyond me. I mean, if you’re a Democrat and you enjoy freaking out, knock yourself out. Be my guest. But rationally, big picture, you would rather be the party of Joe Biden than the party of Donald Trump right now.”  [emphasis added]

Related post: 
ELECTION UPDATE: In southwestern Virginia, Trump tail wags dog.  (11/3/2021)