Sunday, November 11, 2012

Winners and Losers of 2012 Election. Chris Cillizza. The Washington Post.


WINNERS
Women: Women comprised 53 percent of the total national vote -- as they did in 2008 -- and went for Obama by 11 points, a gender gap critical to his victory. Female politicians -- particularly on the Democratic side -- also had a very good night. The Senate added Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) and Heidi Heitkamp to its ranks while re-electing potential 2016-ers Kirstin Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.). In New Hampshire, women ruled the day -- electing a new governor (Maggie Hassan) and two new House Members (Carol Shea Porter and Ann Kuster). Add Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R) and Jeanne Shaheen (D) to that mix and you have an all-female congressional delegation from the Granite State.
Young voters: Long the butt of jokes about their lack of participation in the political process, the 18-29-year-old set made a major statement in the 2012 campaign. One of the most amazing stats of the 2012 election is that young voters made up a larger percentage of the total electorate (18 percent in 2008, 19 percent in 2012) than they did four years ago. And while Obama's margin wasn't as large among that youthful age group as it was four years ago, he still carried 18-29-year-olds by 24 points. We are, we are the youth of the nation -- indeed.

LOSERS

Tea-party champions: The tea-party wing of the GOP cost Republicans near sure-thing Senate seats in Missouri and Indiana by nominating two candidates who were aligned with their views but not with the broader electorates of the states they were running to represent. Add Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin to a list that in 2010 included Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell and Ken Buck and you see five Senate seats that Republicans could easily be holding if they had nominated the more electable candidate. At the House level, tea-party hero Joe Walsh (Ill.) lost badly and Rep. Allen West (Fla.) appears headed to defeat although he has yet to concede the contest. Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) eked out a win despite the Republican nature of her suburban Twin Cities seat. The message? Being a tea-party hero is great if you are running for the tea-party nomination. Of course, that doesn't exist.
Read more: lowellsun.com/oped

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