Ken Cuccinelli had all the answers the Tea Party wanted to hear, but he couldn’t win the governor’s spot in Virginia. The why of it is something the Republican party has to grasp if they hope to retain any relevancy.
The first mistake? Relying on NRA ratings. Democratic opponent McAuliffe has an F grade from the organization and he doesn’t care. In a debate at Virginia Tech two weeks ago, he said he was “fine” with it, adding “I’m not running to be president of the NRA. I’m running to be governor of Virginia.” The takeaway? That isn’t enough to tank a candidate in a swing state like Virginia.
The second was overestimating voter anger at the Affordable Care Act. The traditional math says that everybody hates it, but they don’t seem to hate it enough at the ballot box. Republicans seem intent on running against the ACA as a strategy, but that’s only going to be a relevant issue for next year’s midterms. Continued...