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The Democrats got involved in the Republican campaign within the party: They supported extreme candidates in several states. The calculus: In November, in the actual election, these candidates are easier to beat. This caused criticism, including from within his own party.
«John Gibbs is too conservative for western Michigan! A candidate handpicked by Donald Trump! A hardliner when it comes to migration!» That’s the sound of a TV ad sponsored by the Democrats.
What superficially sounds like an attack on John Gibbs is, in the ears of many Republican voters, downright an election recommendation. And the Democrats know it. They’ve spent over $400,000 supporting Gibbs in this way.
Democrats help election deniers
Gibbs is a far-right candidate, backed by ex-President Donald Trump. He is a candidate who spread conspiracy theories – and the tale of the “stolen” 2020 presidential election. He won his primary with Democratic help against a moderate Republican.
Now he is the Republican candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives in the highly contested state of Michigan. Democrats hope Gibbs will be far easier to defeat than a moderate Republican.
promising tactics
There is a lot at stake in the midterm elections on November 8th: The Democrats want to defend their slim majorities in Congress and in addition the parliaments and governors are being elected in many states. It is fought with hard bandages. In several states, the Democrats are using millions of dollars to influence the Republican primary.
In the race for the governor’s seat in the state of Illinois alone, tens of millions were spent to help an extreme Republican get nominated.
“The tactic will probably work for the Democrats,” explains David Niven, campaign expert at the University of Cincinnati: “In states like Illinois, only moderate Republicans have a chance. The fact that more extreme candidates have now been nominated in some places makes life easier for the Democrats”.
critics in their own ranks
Tim Roemer sat in the US House of Representatives for twelve years. He and other Democrats have criticized this election tactic in an open letter: “We should never support candidates who undermine trust in democracy.”
Roemer believes that it is impossible for the Democrats to nominate people who deny the result of the 2020 presidential election: “We Democrats should make it clear during the election campaign that we are defending the constitution. How are we supposed to do that credibly when we support such candidates just because we hope they’re easy to beat?”
The risk of miscalculation
This electoral tactic is not new. But it has reached a new level, says political scientist David Niven: “This time the Democrats are helping candidates who they themselves describe as a threat to democracy: election deniers and people who defend the attack on the Capitol on January 6.”
And it’s playing with fire: Once before, a candidate was considered too extreme and believed to have very little chance of being elected: Donald Trump. He became President of the United States in 2016.