Several things come to mind with the Republican takeover of the Senate. Before the Democrats start beating themselves up over losses in Election 2014, let me share my thoughts.
At first, I thought, well, the Democrats distanced themselves from Obama and people were turned off by that. But when I looked at several campaigns, especially those of Alison Grimes and Michelle Nunn, those were pretty savvy campaigns. They should have worked. Possibly Mark Udall's campaign made a misstep with an overemphasis on women's reproductive health, but on the whole, I felt like the Democratic candidates were addressing the issues. Also this argument of distancing one's self from Obama being what killed a political campaign really doesn't cut it when you consider that many of the Republican candidates downplayed their opposition to women's healthcare issues, and immigration reform. Indeed, Tillis (R-NC) and Gardner (R-CO) came out for increasing access to birth control, but that may just be the proverbial campaign promise.
The Democratic get out the vote campaign was amazing considering how Republican state governments suppressed voters with voter id and reduced hours for voting. Campaign funding was a major issue. I think I'm looking at the very best Congress and governorships that money can buy. In short the Democrats fought an uphill battle all the way and did it with a lot of heart and effort.
Inroads were made. Most Republican victories had rather thin to very thin margins. A thin margin means that you have to figure out how to represent or govern a whole lot of people who don't agree with you. I'm not sure that most of the Republicans elected will be up to that. Four states passed a minimum wage law. One state guaranteed paid sick leave for workers. This shows me that the status quo stopped working in those states for a majority of voters so they adopted a progressive idea. A few red states, notably Texas and Georgia, now have organizations capable of growing a decisively Democratic electorate in the future.
One thing has me concerned. There is a decided split in the Democratic Party between centrists and progressives. Not too many people are aware of this split because the contention between the Tea Party and mainstream Republicans is a lot more colorful and creates flashy headlines. But the split in the Democratic party exists and I am reminded of it when Larry Summers states that every Democrat believes in Milton Friedman. Or when shooting down a progressive cause is called "punching the hippie." I wonder sometimes how many progressive Democrats vote for a centrist candidate because the Republican candidate is simply too unpalatable.
So that's my greatest worry for the Democrats. The centrists seem to be firmly in place in the leadership of the party. They did a very good job asking for my money but I wonder if they know anything about the progressives who only vote centrists in because they are the lesser of two evils? And I wonder how many Democratic progressives either did not vote or voted in protest for the Republican candidate because there are progressive issues that are being ignored.