Whit Ayres’s comments to McClatchy news service on the Trump effect in Republican primaries: When it comes to moving Republican votes, said veteran GOP pollster Whit Ayres, a Trump endorsement is “determinative.” “At this point,” he said, ticking through a number of primary contest results, “a Trump endorsement can totally change the complexion of a...
Whit Ayres’ comments in USA Today regarding the political impact of Justice Kennedy’s retirement: Whit Ayres, a veteran GOP pollster, said quickly confirming a new justice before the Nov. 6 midterms could prove crucial to Senate Republicans. “It will make even more compelling the Republican argument that they have delivered on their promises and future...
Whit Ayres’ comments in The Washington Post regarding President Trump’s approach on trade and immigration: That means most of the midterm action is taking place in contested, Republican-held House districts and a couple of swing states, such as Florida and Nevada, where Trump’s rhetoric has wedged members of his party into a most uncomfortable position...
Whit Ayres’ comments on the Trump Administration border detention policy was cited as The New York Times‘ Quote of the Day: “Somehow I don’t think that putting kids in cages is likely to go over very well with suburban moms,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster uneasy about running on the culture wars. Mr. Ayres...
Whit Ayres’ comments for Frontline on the role partisanship in defending a sitting president: Political scientists said that limited criticism is normal from a president’s own party. Some made parallels to the debate among Republicans over whether to defend President Ronald Reagan following the Iran-Contra scandal. Whit Ayres, a Republican political consultant, noted that Democrats...
Whit Ayres’ comments about President Trump and the Republican party were prominently featured in Newsweek, including this observation: “Virtually every president’s job approval has been driven by the state of the economy,” Ayres points out, but Trump “has severed the traditional link between presidential job approval and economic well-being.” That lends some credence to the...
Whit Ayres’ comments in The Daily Caller on Republican electoral prospects in the face of changing demographics: Republican pollster Whit Ayres points out that President Bush got 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, including a majority of Sunbelt Hispanics. “It’s no coincidence that he was the last Republican nominee for president to win...
Jon McHenry’s comments to The World Weekly on the economy and Republican prospects in the fall: Republican leaders plan to campaign on economic successes. The US economy has surged in recent months, with GDP up 3.2% in the third quarter of 2017 and unemployment down to 4.1%. Messaging will particularly focus on the Republican tax...
The Virginia Election in Six Charts
BlogDemographicsFeaturedPolitical ClimateRepublicansJanuary 23, 2018
Democratic nominee Ralph Northam won the 2017 election for Governor of Virginia by the unexpectedly large margin of nine percentage points, 54 to 45 percent. Unlike the Rustbelt states voting for President in 2016, few counties switched from Democrat to Republican since the last Virginia gubernatorial election in 2013. Instead the surprising margin was caused...
Whit Ayres’ quote in The New York Times regarding the state of play in the 2018 Senate map: “The Democrats running in the 10 states that Donald Trump carried have all demonstrated an ability to get elected in Republican states, so they obviously have something going for them,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist. “But...
