MSNBC’s Fineman Warns Dems: Gloating About Taking Back Senate Could Scare Swing Voters

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., listens during a news conference on Cap
AP Photo/Susan Walsh

MSNBC analyst Howard Fineman warned Democrats on Sunday not to gloat about potentially taking back the Senate because it could potentially scare swing voters who are afraid of Democrats controlling all three branches and enacting “radical” measures.

Fineman tweeted: “The #Democrats might not want to crow about their growing chances of winning the Senate. If that looks inevitable—full Democratic control of #Congress—it might give #Trump the only shred of a pitch he’d have with swing voters: only his veto could stop “radical” new Dem measures.”

Democrats need a net gain of three seats if former Vice President Joe Biden wins the presidency and four if Trump wins re-election to take back the Senate, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been sounding optimistic of late in interviews with establishment media outlets.

“We are feeling very good,” Schumer told the New York Times over the weekend about his party’s chances of taking back the Senate. “Republicans tried to intervene in the primaries, but we looked for the candidates who were most competitive. The bottom line is we have candidates who represent their states very well and are talking about the issues the public really cares about.”

The Times noted that because of the public’s dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, Democrats “now find themselves with a solid chance to take control of the Senate next year.”

The Cook Political Report recently declared that “Democrats are a slight favorite to win the Senate majority,” and the Times singled out three Republican incumbents—Sens. Martha McSally (R-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Cory Gardner (R-CO)—who are in danger of losing their seats. In addition, the outlet noted that recent polling has shown that Democrats “are also running neck and neck with Republican incumbents in Georgia, Iowa, Maine and Montana.”

According to the Times, “Biden’s candidacy has expanded the playing field for Democrats by depriving Republicans of some of the anti-socialist message they intended to employ had Bernie Sanders been the nominee.”

Because it is difficult to pin Biden as a socialist, especially after he was attacked by progressives during the primary for being too conservative, President Donald Trump and his supporters have been arguing that Biden would be a puppet of the so-called “radical left.”

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