Yeah, mandate. Oops
A new poll finds majorities in red and purple states who want their Democratic senators to be a "check and balance" to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
The poll, conducted for the progressive Center for American Progress and published by The Washington Post, found that between 56 percent and 61 percent of voters in those states want their Democratic senator to be a "check and balance" to Trump.
The survey of 1,206 voters was conducted in 14 states where Democratic senators are up for reelection in 2018.
"Even in states that Trump won handily, Democrats are in a good position," the organization's president, Neera Tanden, told the newspaper.
"Eight years ago, if you asked this question, people were much more inclined to say that everyone should get along. Here, you've got people who voted for Trump but want Democrats to block or oppose his agenda. That seems to be a new thing for American politics."
When the pollster conducting the survey described liberal proposals in a positive light, voters said "no" to many of the Republican Party's goals for the new Congress.
When asked if they would "replace Medicare with private insurance for seniors that costs two thousand dollars more per year on average," 77 percent of respondents said "no."
Seventy-two percent said they would not "cut funding for Medicaid, which states use to provide health coverage for low-income individuals and for nursing home care for seniors and the disabled."
Tanden noted the "big cleavage in the coalition that voted for Trump."
"He won traditional Republicans, but his victory margin came from people who didn't vote Republican before and don't support the party now. That's unique," she said.
"It also suggests that the election was not a mandate for a right-wing agenda, and right now, Trump's misreading that with his Cabinet picks."
