@MTTreasurer
The question of why red states are more likely to support moderates from the other party than blue states does actually perplex me, but I think there's more to it than "red state voters are idiots."
I think it has more to do with retail politics. Small states are more likely to be Republican, and in smaller states, retail politics matters so much more because, with fewer voters, it actually becomes feasible. I think the reason why Tester and Heitkamp and Manchin were able to win is because of that. In Maryland, or Cali, or other blue states, you're probably dealing with bigger populations, making charismatic, moderate-sounding, people from the other party less able to succeed with that tactic.
Of course, that still leaves Missouri...
Yeah, the only Democratic state that comes to mind where this isn't the case is Maine (Susan Collins). But then again, Maine is hardly a deep blue state (especially today), so it's not a good comparison.
And don't get me wrong, voters in Democratic states who are voting against moderate Republican Senate candidates are absolutely doing the right thing. There is no reason why someone like Mark Kirk should represent Illinois in the Senate, for example. If I were a Democrat or Democratic-leaning, I'd definitely vote against people like Susan Collins (heck, I probably would have voted for Bellows in 2014 anyway, in all honesty).
Most ideological scorecards rate Manchin level with or to the right of Collins. Anyone who puts him to the right of Capito is delusional. Of course his populism is slightly manufactured - he was the CEO of a mining company and his daughter is the CEO of a pharmaceutical company - but he's not a totally fake moderate like McCaskill or Tester.
Manchin vs. Collins is
very debatable (just ask RINO Tom
) but I agree with you on the rest. And like I said, I think he and Donnelly are the best Democratic Senators, not that it means much.
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