Joe Scarborough says Tuesday's GOP drubbing was clearly 'a message to Donald Trump'
On Tuesday, Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) trounced Republican Ed Gillespie by a wide 9-point margin, bringing a lot of Democrats along with him on his coattails. On Wednesday's Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough was surprised. "Everybody on both sides of the aisles said this guy ran one of the worst closing campaigns they had seen in recent memory, and yet Virginia voters stood in the rain, they stood in long lines," he said.
"I do believe that next year may be the year of 'women voters and women candidates,' because I heard stories of women standing in the rain in Northern Virginia in long lines, and they weren't going to move until they got their vote against Donald Trump," Scarborough added. He said he still doesn't believe the 2016 election was about Trump as much as it was about Hillary Clinton, and by the same light, "last night wasn't so much about Ralph Northam as it was voters — Republicans, moderates, Democrats, and women — sending a message to Donald Trump."
It should be noted that on Monday, nobody on the Morning Joe panel of pundits thought Northam would beat Gillespie. So even if female voters standing in the rain outside D.C. were a strong data point for the 2018 midterms, rather than a bit of interesting anecdotal evidence, you should probably wait a few months before hitting the Vegas bookies with a wager on "women voters and women candidates in 2018." Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
