Don’t expect major changes from Dems or GOP after midterms, political science professor says

BUFFALO, N.Y. – In the aftermath of Tuesday’s midterm elections, Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, says that both parties have “soul searching to do.”

Neiheisel, an expert on political campaigns, says that Democrats and Republicans both made risky strategic decisions that either cost them votes or put their parties in jeopardy of losing critical races.

“Both parties have some soul-searching to do, but I doubt that either side will do anything because they both will craft a narrative that they ‘won,’ and therefore don't need to change or even need to double down on what they did this time around,” says Neiheisel.

“The Republican Party needs to think about whether [former President Donald] Trump is an albatross or not, and whether they misread the tea leaves regarding the economy and crime,” he says.

Neiheisel also says that “candidate quality matters once again and the Trump phenomenon is looking more like a blip than a trend in that regard. Better candidates had a better night than the lesser quality candidates.”

Democrats, meanwhile, “will be content that their strategy of getting involved in a number of GOP primaries worked and be vindicated on that front – which can be dangerous. This is dangerous because, in a different electoral environment, this means that they are helping extremists win elections,” he says.

Neiheisel is available to address the midterm elections and what went right and wrong for both Republicans and Democrats. Contact Doug Sitler at drsitler@buffalo.edu for further assistance.