# What is the best-case scenario for Democrats at the mid-terms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 29, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476 "2026-05-29T16:16:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/41 "2026-06-01T19:07:35Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Is this regarding the 2024 Democratic primary for POTUS? Hell, no. She and running mate Karin Garcia were [candidates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_De_la_Cruz_2024_presidential_campaign) of the [Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Socialism_and_Liberation) > The Party for Socialism and Liberation attained ballot access in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington. In addition, De la Cruz received ballot lines from the [Peace and Freedom Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_Freedom_Party) in California, the [South Carolina Workers Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Workers_Party), and has filed as [unaffiliated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_politician) in Utah.[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_De_la_Cruz_2024_presidential_campaign#cite_note-14)[_[better source needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Questionable_sources)_] > > During the 2024 election, [Democrats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) often worked to keep De la Cruz along with other left-wing third-party candidates such as [Cornel West](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West_2024_presidential_campaign) off of ballots,[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_De_la_Cruz_2024_presidential_campaign#cite_note-:04-15) while [Republicans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)) often intervened to keep De la Cruz and West on ballots.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_De_la_Cruz_2024_presidential_campaign#cite_note-:04-15) As I said above, Democrats are more subtle than Republicans but their thumb is on the scale, nonetheless. People who are not members of or active in an alternate party have no idea how difficult it is to get a candidate on the ballot, from President all the way down to city council member, so much so that despite radically different policies, several have joined together in a [coalition for litigation purposes](http://www.cofoe.org/). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/42 "2026-06-02T02:44:59Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > During the 2024 election, [Democrats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) often worked to keep De la Cruz along with other left-wing third-party candidates such as [Cornel West](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornel_West_2024_presidential_campaign) off of ballots, If there had been no 3rd party candidates in 2016, we might never have had trump. I would sometimes like all 3rd parties kept off the ballot- but only if I get wishes from a unicorn that poops soft serve ice cream. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/43 "2026-06-02T03:08:41Z")
So we can vote only for candidates you approve of. Got it. In which swing state(s) would the alternate party vote have tipped the state into the Democrat camp, had every one of them voted for her rather than their preferred candidate? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/44 "2026-06-02T03:17:39Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > So we can vote only for candidates you approve of. Got it. You didnt read my post , did you? About the > [@DrDeth](#): > > sometimes > [@DrDeth](#): > > but only if I get wishes from a unicorn that poops soft serve ice cream. 🤪 Jeez. > [@DesertDog](#): > > In which swing state(s) would the alternate party vote have tipped the state into the Democrat camp, had every one of them voted for her rather than their preferred candidate? > **[How third-party votes sunk Clinton, what they mean for Trump](https://rollcall.com/2019/07/29/how-third-party-votes-sunk-clinton-what-they-mean-for-trump/)** > > For all the talk about why Donald Trump was elected president while losing the popular vote and how he could win again, one of the least discussed results of the 2016 election offers valuable lessons for Democrats. An astounding 7.8 million voters... > Wisconsin was a near dead heat in 2004. (Kerry won it by a mere 11,000 votes.) But Obama carried it by comfortable margins in 2008 (415,000 votes) and 2012 (213,000 votes). > > Then in 2016, Trump carried the Badger State by fewer than 23,000 votes. But his vote total was less than what Romney received in 2012 — yet Trump carried the state while Romney lost it by over 200,000 votes. > > Third-party and independent hopefuls in Wisconsin drew 39,000 votes in 2012 but more than four times that number, 188,000 votes, four years later. Now, pundits disagree on this, but I did say -MIGHT > [@DrDeth](#): > > we might never have had trump. **But we are getting a bit far off of the OP, I see.** ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/45 "2026-06-02T05:24:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You didnt read my post , did you? I did. After twenty years active in an alternate party ballot access is a sore point with me. Those who have not done so have no idea of the roadblocks the stale parties throw up so personalities decide elections, not issues. If you want to parcel out blame for Trump winning in 2016, consider the Democrats’ offering up the most hated woman in America. Deserved or not it was a big factor. Weasel words like “sometimes” are also a trigger. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/46 "2026-06-02T12:46:32Z")
I think best case is a solid majority in the house, maybe 20 seats or so, and a slim majority in the senate, maybe 52/48 (obviously including Bernie and Angus King in the D column). This would include James Talarico winning in Texas. > [@DesertDog](#): > > If you want to parcel out blame for Trump winning in 2016, consider the Democrats’ offering up the most hated woman in America. Anyone the Democrats nominated in 2016 would have become the most hated person in America. Had Elizabeth Warren or Amy Klobuchar won the 2016 Democratic primary, they would have become the most hated woman in America. Just like John Kerry was the most hated man in America in 2004 (swift boats anyone?). That obviously changed after 2016, with Trump taking the title of “most hated” for the foreseeable future, but prior to that, from say 1994 (the Gingrich revolution) to 2016, whoever the Democratic POTUS or nominee for POTUS would inherit the title of “most hated”. The fact that the role fell to Hillary Clinton in 2016 is an accident of history, not a reflection of anything in particular about her that is worthy of being hated. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/47 "2026-06-02T12:58:42Z")
Winning control of both houses. If we can’t do that with all the bullshit that’s gone down over the past 2 years, then we may as well cash in our chips. It’s over. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/48 "2026-06-02T18:22:08Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > If you want to parcel out blame for Trump winning in 2016, consider the Democrats’ offering up the most hated woman in America. Not “the Democrats”- the VOTERS. You know, we have clarified this over and over here in P&E. The DNC does not pick the candidates. And since she was picked by the voters, hardly the most hated. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Anyone the Democrats nominated in 2016 would have become the most hated person in America. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/49 "2026-06-02T18:26:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not “the Democrats”- the VOTERS. You know, we have clarified this over and over here in P&E. The DNC does not pick the candidates. And since she was picked by the voters, hardly the most hated. Still the most hated, since almost all the Republican voters hated her, and up until then there really wasn’t the same hate on the part of Democratic voters towards Republican leaders. Obviously since then Trump holds that title, but in those pre-Trump days, the Republican voting public would have turned their hate on whoever the voters nominated to run on the Democratic ticket. It just so happened that in 2016 that was Hillary Clinton, but I suspect that had it been someone else, that person would have become the “most hated person in America” until Trump took the title. ETA: Regarding the semantics, yes there are likely some number of people who voted for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary who probably don’t consider themselves Democrats. But just because one is a voter rather than an elected office holder doesn’t exclude one from being considered a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/50 "2026-06-02T18:44:13Z")
With all the success the GOP has seen with gerrymandering and SCOTUS gutting the Voting Rights Act I’m no longer as confident about taking back the House. At this point I think the Senate may be more achievable. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/51 "2026-06-02T21:31:35Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Had Elizabeth Warren or Amy Klobuchar won the 2016 Democratic primary, they would have become the most hated woman in America. Of course. Had Jesus Himself become the candidate he would have been the most hated man, but Clinton went in with a history thanks to being First Lady. Warren and Klobuchar were not nearly as well known. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Not “the Democrats”- the VOTERS. And the VOTERS were Republican? Those sneaky bastards. And this discounts the DNC putting it’s thumb on the scale by keeping candidates it didn’t like off of the ballot. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And since she was picked by the voters, hardly the most hated. Any good will she might have had by the one side was more than made up by the loathing of the other. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/52 "2026-06-02T23:36:51Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And this discounts the DNC putting it’s thumb on the scale by keeping candidates it didn’t like off of the ballot. Didnt happen, and they cant do it. I mean, there was Bernie Sanders - who wasnt even a Democrat fercrickiessake. And this has little to do with the midterms other than to reiterate- the DNC does not appoint candidates. The VOTERS select the candidates, not the party. In CA, for Governor, that is even more special, as the primary is non-partisan. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/53 "2026-06-03T02:17:33Z")
So, the DNC are saints and never, ever do anything nefarious. It’s those evil VOTERS who fucked things up, especially those VOTERS who fail to vote the way you want. Those VOTERS who vote for candidates who “sometimes” should be kept off of the ballot. Who gets to decide what this sometimes is? You? The DNC? The RNC? A coalition of the two?. You conveniently ignored the link I supplied about the [difficulties of getting a candidate on](http://www.cofoe.org/) in the first. Until you have to say\> you do why should I pay the slightest attentention to anything ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/54 "2026-06-03T03:25:19Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > You conveniently ignored the link I supplied about the [difficulties of getting a candidate on](http://www.cofoe.org/) in the first. “This site does not support a secure connections”. nope. And, as I have said- the argument you are making doesnt fit into this thread. Maybe start a new one about the Eviiiils of the Democratic party- might I suggest the BBQ pit? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/55 "2026-06-03T04:05:02Z")
Keep sticking those finger in your ears, then. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/56 "2026-06-27T21:01:58Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > So, the DNC are saints and never, ever do anything nefarious. Compared to republicans, yes they are saints. It’s like trying to compare someone that says an unkind word to someone that will just blow you away. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/57 "2026-06-27T21:04:04Z")
I would like them to clear a higher bar than _better than Republicans_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/58 "2026-06-27T22:25:38Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I would like them to clear a higher bar than _better than Republicans_. Until the end of trumpism, there is no higher bar. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/59 "2026-06-27T23:13:30Z")
Rather, no higher bar _that matters_. I’d love a Dem party that was a pristine shining beacon on a hill. But I’ll settle for one that’s better than Fascism. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476/60 "2026-06-28T00:48:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Rather, no higher bar _that matters_. At this time, at least. Once trumpism is gone, I agree, maybe we need a better standard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-case-scenario-for-democrats-at-the-mid-terms/1030476.md?page=4)