January 17, 2018 09:20 AM UTC

More Signs of Coming Democratic Wave in 2018

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• by: Colorado Pols

For months Republicans have been shuddering at the thought of a terrible 2018 election year. The news got a lot worse on Tuesday night when a Democrat won a special election in Wisconsin for a state senate seat in a district that Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2016.

As the Washington Post explains, Republicans significantly outspent Democrats in Wisconsin’s 10th District but could not find a way to defeat Democrat Patty Schachtner:

Unlike with Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race, the Trump team cannot blame a flawed candidate. The GOP nominee, Adam Jarchow, is a solid assemblyman who ran a spirited campaign. Four years ago, in fact, he won his seat by defeating Schachtner’s son and has worked hard since then to cultivate a base of support…

…Schachtner is the sort of candidate who can actually defeat GOP incumbents in red congressional districts this fall. She has deep roots in the community, and she is not a fire-breathing liberal.

Her campaign focused not on attacking Trump but fighting the opioid crisis, improving access to health care and bringing good-paying jobs to the region. She didn’t need to talk about the president to benefit from an outpouring of progressive energy and conservative apathy.

Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker called Tuesday’s results “a wake up call” for the GOP. Democrats have already picked up 34 seats across the country in the 2018 election cycle.