As Chuck Todd sees it, this past Tuesday’s elections are a harbinger of things to come for Democrats.
In his opening commentary on Meet the Press Sunday, Todd articulated his view that there will be national ramifications for Democrats following Tuesday’s loss by Terry McAuliffe (D) in the Virginia governor’s race and the much closer than expected victory by Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) in the Garden State.
“What happened to Democrats on Tuesday goes far beyond the defeat of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, or Governor Phil Murphy’s narrow escape in New Jersey,” Todd said. “If you look at it from coast-to-coast, it was a warning to the Democrats that their Congressional majorities are in grave danger.”
The NBC News political director cited several reasons why he thinks Democrats had a poor showing on Tuesday.
“Was the standoff between progressives and moderates partly to blame? Probably,” Todd said. “Did President [Joe] Biden misread his mandate? Many Democrats think he did. Was the public’s sense that the country was on the wrong track a factor? Clearly.”
Todd did point to a silver lining for the party. The Meet the Press moderator said that Biden had “one of his best days in office” Friday, with the long-awaited passage of an infrastructure package in the House, as well as promising jobs numbers.
Still, Todd added, “Democrats are sounding alarm bells, worried a toxic national environment could cost them control of Congress in midterm elections next year.”
Watch above, via NBC.
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