Democrats Win 37th Red to Blue District Pickup

Linda Belcher, Democrat victor

Another state district election in a deep red district has seen a Democrat flip the district from Republican to Democrat.  What's amazing is the 86 point swing in the vote from just two years ago when Der Trumpenführer had won the district by 72%.   Yesterday, the Democrat won with 68% of the vote. It seems that voters are waking up to the reality that the GOP is not delivering on its promises and that average Americans are worse off under GOP rule.  Making racists and religious fanatics feel good about themselves doesn't pay the bills.  The never ending scandals swirling around the Trump/Pence regime only help to underscore this reality.  Here are highlights from Daily Kos on yesterday's stunning Democrat victory: 

Break out the bourbon—Democrats just won their 37th red-to-blue state legislative flip of the cycle. This latest win came in Kentucky, where former state Rep. Linda Belcher (not to be confused another important Linda Belcher) defeated Republican Rebecca Johnson 68-32 percent in the 49th state House District.

This seat went for Donald Trump in a 72-23 landslide in 2016, making Belcher’s win tonight an astonishing 86-point swing. Belcher herself lost this seat 50.4-49.6 percent in 2016 after flipping it from red to blue by a 53-47 margin in 2014. (She’d previously lost HD-49 in 2012 after serving two terms.) The Republican who ousted Belcher in 2016 was Dan Johnson, the self-styled “Pope” of the controversial Heart of Fire church.

Dan Johnson’s tenure as a state representative ended abruptly on Dec. 13, when, just a day after refusing to resign amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old in his home after holding one of his infamous church parties, he committed suicide. His widow, who continues to proclaim her late husband’s innocence, stepped forward to run for the seat.

Belcher had already planned to seek a rematch with Dan Johnson before his sudden death triggered this special election. She was one of at least 28 current and former teachers lined up to take on incumbents in November 2018, so she was ready to hit the ground running when the campaign timeline shifted.

If Republicans can’t hold onto seats like this in deep red states like Kentucky, they’re a special kind of screwed in November—at every level of the ballot.