ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “John Tompkins had voted for Barack Obama, but in 2016 he eagerly backed Donald Trump. ‘Trump is on the right track,’ said the 83-year-old Air Force veteran. ‘He wants to get rid of the illegals.’ Mr. Tompkins’ friends, gathered for morning coffee at the Hy-Vee Grille, said they had made the same switch, motivated by Mr. Trump’s promises to boost military funding and stop illegal immigration. Party-switchers like these helped propel Mr. Trump to the White House, in the process flipping 20 congressional districts into Mr. Trump’s column that had voted twice for Mr. Obama. This year, a central question is whether these Obama-Trump voters will back Republican candidates with the same enthusiasm they felt for Mr. Trump, or whether the president’s unconventional appeal assembled a voter coalition that is unique to him.”
–Dante Chinni, “Midterm Battles Test Whether Districts Trump Flipped Stay That Way,” The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2018 5:30am