Instead of focusing on the silly “shouldn’t have enacted Obamacare” hindsight arguments about Democratic losses in 2014, Greg Sargent is usefully looking at the long and tough road back for Democrats to rebuild their strength in the House, which also means rebuilding their strength in the states. After a conversation with the Cook Poltiical Report’s David Wasserman, Greg figures the most efficient route to a Democratic House comeback is via winning large “swing state” governorships currently controlled by the GOP (e.g., OH, MI, FL, WI, PA, NC) and perhaps making enough legislative gains to give them control of some legislatures by 2020, just prior to the next round of redistricting.
It’s worth noting, of course, that 2020 is a presidential year, and thus, assuming existing turnout patterns continue, a much better Democratic year than the last pre-redistricting election of 2010.
Circle that year on your calendars. It should be noted as well that North Carolina’s next gubernatorial election is in the presidential year of 2016. And finally, Republican governors in OH, MI and FL will be term-limited in 2018.
