ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democratic energy has been on vivid display in a series of special elections since President Trump’s inauguration, including in strongly conservative areas where Republicans usually win elections easily, like Arizona’s Eighth District.In a special House election on Tuesday [4-24-18], Debbie Lesko, a Republican, won the conservative Arizona district, but was ahead by less than six points as of 12:00 a.m. Eastern with most of the votes counted. That is a narrow win compared to the victory margin of Trent Franks, who beat his opponent by 37 points in 2016, but resigned amid scandal. In 2016, President Trump won the district in a landslide, but on Tuesday, Republican support dropped in nearly all precincts…So far, Republicans have benefited greatly from being able to choose most of the spots they have been forced to compete in. Five of the eight special elections arose because Mr. Trump selected the sitting Republican lawmaker there for a position in his cabinet. (In the other three cases, Republicans resigned from Congress amid scandal or to join the private sector.) But Mr. Trump’s party will have to compete in dozens of more closely divided districts in November. If Democrats enjoy the same enthusiasm gap in those races, Republicans’ control of the House and Senate could be in jeopardy.”
–Alexander Burns and Denise Lu, “Republicans Lost Support in Every Special Election Since Trump Became President,” The New York Times online, April 25, 2018