(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A Crosscut/Elway poll conducted through the month of January showed the percentage of respondents in Washington state who identify as Republicans has jumped 10 points in the last six months, Just the News reported.
This jump in closing the gap from 18 percentage points to 7 percentage points has Republicans one giant step closer to drawing even with Democrats in the state.
Washington state has been solidly blue for several decades, not having voted for a Republican president since 1984, governor since 1980 or for U.S. Senator since 1998.
Democrats have also controlled the state House of Representatives for the last 20 years.
This monumental shift shows just how far-left leaning the current administration is, and just how much American citizens are able to tolerate.
A Gallup poll was also recently released showing a dramatic national shift, showing a 9-point Democrat advantage in party identification at the beginning of 2021 turning into a 5-point Republican advantage by December.
John Wilkerson, professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, believes this shift is due to the increasing nationalization of state-level politics.
“What matters at the state level is less important to state level voters than what’s happening nationally when their information about politics increasingly comes from national sources,” Wilkerson explained.
This increased nationalization, combined with President Joe Biden‘s steadily declining poll numbers, continued COVID tyranny, the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, supply chain debacle and rising inflation paints a worrisome picture for the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.
Washington State Republican Party Chair Caleb Heimlich also noted the connection between state-level and national politics.
“Both the Elway Poll and the Gallup Poll show a massive swing towards Republicans,” he said. “These swings are right in line with the 2021 election results in Virginia and New Jersey where Republican candidates performed 12-15% better than 2020 results.”
Heimlich also noted that Democrats across the country are scrambling for good press:
“Clearly, the Democrats see the poll numbers and the momentum Republicans have,” he said. “and Democrats seem to be taking some steps this session to minimize their losses.”
While it is not clear if Washington state’s new Republicans are simply reactionaries, moderates or otherwise, the state Republican Party plans to use this shift to its advantage.
“After all the radical policies [Democrats] pushed, and the incompetence displayed by the Biden Administration, Republicans have a once in a generation opportunity to connect with voters and offer a better path forward for our state and nation,” Heimlich concluded.
