The 2014 midterms have come and gone, meaning one thing (No more ads!). But in terms of control, it meant a net gain of 7 senate seats for the GOP as of now (with Alaska and the Louisiana runoff looking like further GOP gains). Giving the U.S Senate a 54-46 Republican majority. All in all, this was another GOP wave midterm election, so the question for the Democrats is, how did this happen?
The Democrats had a number of missteps. The first were candidates going away from issues that work. Minimum wage initiatives passed in Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. Yet they largely ignored these issues. They ignored aspects to the economic recovery (even though it is true that it hasn't reached some rural areas). In some cases (Like with Mark Udall in Colorado), they focused too much on a singular issue. Udall tried to pander to the female vote by basically making his entire campaign on reproductive rights. Candidates also alienated the Latino vote by ignoring immigration reform. This was helped by Obama delaying action until after the election. Sen. Reid also delayed other tough bills to shade vulnerable Senate Democrats from having to make tough choices (and its not like that worked out). Of course, this wasn't the only misstep for Democrats.
Many candidates tried to run away from President Obama. Whether it was Sen's. Hagan (NC), Pryor (Arkansas) or Alison Grimes (KY), they tried to paint themselves as centrist. Here's the problem with trying to run against Obama, what did they think the Republicans were doing? Republicans are running anti-Obama, so the Democrats are going to do the same thing? (Granted to a lesser extent). The 2014 Democrats didn't stand for anything. They just hoped to pander to voters who weren't going to vote for them anyway, meanwhile ignoring their main base. That's the biggest problem for Democrats in midterms, getting that '08 Obama base of voters out to the polls. Trying to alienate him and distance yourself isn't going to do a lot to encourage that base.
Overall, the leadership with the Democrats seems old and stale (Harry Reid in particular). As for Nancy Pelosi, she's had a better grip on House Democrats than John Boehner has had with House Republicans, however who is next in line? The Democrats need fresh faces. The DNC also needs a better chairman. Ever since Howard Dean, it seems like Tim Kaine and now Debbie Wasserman Schultz have abandoned Dean's 50 state strategy. Democratic leadership needs to do better reaching out. If not, they could have a real problem in 2016, especially with GOP names like Sen. Rand Paul acknowledging that Republicans have to do exactly that (change the perception of the Republican Party).
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