Huckabee/Santorum

[RFayette 🇻🇦]

How would voters and the electoral map react to this Republican ticket, if it ever happens next summer?

A Reaganesque victory uniting the Upper Midwest, South, and Rust Belt

Um, no? 

[RFayette 🇻🇦]

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Yes. I'm being serious. Look, the single-issue social leftists are not a swing bloc.  They're never voting Republican.  This was proven cycle after cycle when moderates avoided these issues like the plague and the numbers if anything shifted away from us.

Huckabee and Santorum's blue collar backgrounds help connect them with certain types of voters that have stayed home in recent cycles. We're not talking about winning New York and California. We're not talking about winning in Washington DC. We're talking about running up the margins  in rural PA and rural OH and rural FL precincts. 

Most Americans don't believe Evangelicals are being persecuted; most Americans favor legalizing gay marriage; most Americans are not born-again Christians. 

The GOP already runs up the margins in rural PA/OH/FL.  They need to run up the margins in the suburban areas of those states to win.  You do that by being socially moderate and running a focused, disciplined campaign.

[RFayette 🇻🇦]

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Probably because they didn't read it in People Magazine or watch it on Bravo.  Run an ad showing what has happened to Christian bakeries.  Just because Santorum believes those things doesn't mean it's all he's about.

I remember in 2012, Santorum gave a speech on the economy. He was then asked about a social issue and he answered. Then he was asked why he talks so much about social issues. I don't see it in his speeches. He takes positions I like on these issues, but they are not the entire premise of his campaign.

I think it's safe to say my political beliefs are far closer to the average American's than yours; if youo want a GOP win, you'd have to lock down voters like me and convince folks like King and ModerateVAVoter to support you.  That's just not happening with Huckabee/Santorum.