It is a lesson that we seemingly relearn every two years — when it comes to winning elections, candidate quality matters. While the media tends to focus on objective measures — like the role of money, demographics and incumbency — repeatedly we see examples of good candidates defying the odds and beating bad ones.
In 2022, Democrats held control of the Senate because they ran excellent candidates like Raphael Warnock and Mark Kelly against deeply flawed Republicans. Democrats swept key governors’ races and gained House seats for the same reason.
This same phenomenon is playing out in 2024. Democrats are favored to retake control of the House because their candidates are simply more impressive than their GOP opponents. An initially skeptical media has recently come around to the fact that Democrats have a real chance to hold control of the Senate — despite a terrible map. Meanwhile, strong Democratic recruits for governor, like North Carolina’s Josh Stein, are setting up another victorious cycle for the Democratic Governors Association.
Of course, nowhere is the disparity of candidate quality more on display than in the race for president. While Kamala Harris continues to exceed even the loftiest expectations, Donald Trump increasingly looks like a washed up used car salesman hanging around the penny slots at his local casino.
Not only is Harris a bona fide star, but so is her running mate: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. By contrast, the nicest thing one can say about Trump’s VP choice is that he is weird. Vance makes Texas Sen. Ted Cruz seem charming.
As we head into the four-day Democratic convention, I want to share a series of profiles of some of the brightest stars in the Democratic Party. There are more profiles to come, but for now, enjoy these and be happy you are a Democrat!
