WA/OR GOP=FL Democrats?

[TDAS04]

Is the Pacific Northwest the Democratic equivalent of Republican Florida?

In some ways, yes. Democrats win the vast majority of statewide elections in Oregon and Washington, but not by overwhelming margins. Gubernatorial races are especially close, yet neither state has had a Republican governor since the 1980s. This seems like something that would frustrate and disappoint Republicans. Dino Rossi is more of a sad figure than Charlie Crist.

[It’s so Joever]

Also opposite sides of the map.

[Sol]

Republicans have persistently done quite poorly in the Pacific Northwest, doing worse than Republicans usually do in safe states. However, that's an order of magnitude different than the failure of the FLDP, which does almost as poorly as the WA or OR GOP in a state which, if it voted like other states, would be a highly competitive swing state.

Some of the FLDP's weakness is a result of the state's peculiarities, to be sure, but it's not like Cubans in South Florida have never voted for Democrats. Democrats have made inroads there before but the party has persistently failed to engage with Latino voters in any meaningful way.

[ProgressiveModerate]

I see where the comparison comes from, but at least in WA and OR, red communities still turn out at decent rates. In Florida, turnout in most strongly Democratic Areas are just awful.

I also think WA is at least a bit different because it's generally reguarded as a safe state. Honestly, the GOP's position in the state leg is relatively impressive given how D the state tends to be topline; mind you they held a weird coalition majority in the State Senate as recently as 2016.

[Crumpets]

WA GOP is a good example of a party that might thrive better under a Canadian-style system where the state party is more its own thing, even if it can keep a national affiliation. No GOPer will win statewide in Washington with the national party looking like it does now, no matter how well it is run. At this point, it's almost worth starting the "Washington Liberty Party" or whatever they want to call it that would actually have a chance of winning over the median voter in the state. And hey, maybe if it works out, the Republicans can have more of a bench to draw from and win some of the "big tent" kudos the Democrats have been hoarding for so long.

[Nyvin]

Washington Republicans have actually done quite well, they had a majority in the State Senate a few years ago and were only down two seats in the state house.   Also they kept WA-3 and WA-8 for quite a while despite both being competitive, plus a few statewide wins for lower offices.

Also some of their reps actually became pretty big names like McMorris Rodgers and Beutler.

I think it's mostly because up until recently, they managed to keep the crazies at bay, unlike in Oregon.

[TDAS04]

I guess the numerical Democratic advantage in Washington and Oregon is large enough that the relative performance of Northwest Republicans is a bit more respectable than that of Florida Democrats. Maybe Minnesota would be a better example of an anti-Florida?

[PSOL]

Republicans have persistently done quite poorly in the Pacific Northwest, doing worse than Republicans usually do in safe states. However, that's an order of magnitude different than the failure of the FLDP, which does almost as poorly as the WA or OR GOP in a state which, if it voted like other states, would be a highly competitive swing state.

Some of the FLDP's weakness is a result of the state's peculiarities, to be sure, but it's not like Cubans in South Florida have never voted for Democrats. Democrats have made inroads there before but the party has persistently failed to engage with Latino voters in any meaningful way.

It’s not just Latinos; African American and especially the Caribbean immigrant subsections along with winnable non-college graduate whites are also effectively abandoned.

[Roll Roons]

Republicans have persistently done quite poorly in the Pacific Northwest, doing worse than Republicans usually do in safe states. However, that's an order of magnitude different than the failure of the FLDP, which does almost as poorly as the WA or OR GOP in a state which, if it voted like other states, would be a highly competitive swing state.

Some of the FLDP's weakness is a result of the state's peculiarities, to be sure, but it's not like Cubans in South Florida have never voted for Democrats. Democrats have made inroads there before but the party has persistently failed to engage with Latino voters in any meaningful way.

It’s not just Latinos; African American and especially the Caribbean immigrant subsections along with winnable non-college graduate whites are also effectively abandoned.

Long but very interesting read on why Florida Democrats are so incompetent: https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/anatomy-of-a-murder-democratic-party-florida