Good News for Dems from Recent Polls, Including Trump in Serious Trouble In Texas (!)

It’s very early, and I continue to try and focus on Virginia’s elections THIS Year, but there’s some good news from the latest polling that I think is worth sharing. First, CNN’s new poll this morning has several findings that made me smile:

• *I find it *very* encouraging that 92% of Democrats/Democratic-leaning independents say it’s either “extremely” or “very” important in choosing a presidential nominee for 2020 that he or she “has a good chance of beating Donald Trump.” I’m totally in that 92%, actually in the 46% who say it’s “extremely important,” because if we don’t beat Trump, all else is moot – we’re totally screwed. On the other hand, if we *do* beat Trump, preferably by a big enough margin that we also take back the U.S. Senate, we can get a lot of things done starting in January 2021, including fixing the enormous damage this administration-from-hell has done to our country and our planet.
• I also find it encouraging that Democrats aren’t getting hung up on less existentially pressing concerns about our 2020 nominee, such as how consistent on issues they’ve been over the years (only 20% say that’s “extremely important”); that they can “bring an outsider’s perspective to Washington” (only 14% say that’s “extremely important”); that they “[represent] the future of the Democratic Party” (only 22% say that’s “extremely important”); etc. I mean, if you look at Facebook, sometimes you’d think that purity tests of various sorts, or what race/ethnicity/gender/sexuality/age/etc. the candidate is, are the most important thing. I’m certainly not saying those things aren’t important, but right now, given the dire situation we face as a nation, as far as I’m concerned what we all need to focus on is who can beat Trump, preferably by the biggest margin. End of story.
• Regarding Trump’s approval/disapproval rating, it’s good to see that he’s still well into negative territory (41%-53%), although it boggles my mind that 41% – or even 4.1% for that matter – can possibly approve of this pathetic excuse for a “president.”
• The #1 issue for Democrats is, as it should be, the #1 threat facing humanity – climate change. According to this poll, a whopping 82% of Democrats and “Democratic-leaning independents” say that “taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change” is “very important,” with another 14% saying it’s “somewhat important,” for a total of 96% saying it’s important to deal with this existential threat.
• The #2 issue for Democrats is also a crucial one – health care. On this one, 91% say it’s either “very important” (75%) or “somewhat important” (16%) to provide “health insurance for all Americans through the government, a plan sometimes called ‘Medicare-for-all’.”
• The #3 issue, at 85% saying “very” or “somewhat” important, is “[t]aking executive action if Congress fails to pass stricter gun laws”
• So yeah, it seems like Democrats have their priorities straight: action on climate change and on healthcare, as well as on gun violence prevention. Now personally, I’d rank a few issues very highly, including protecting our democracy and rule of law; expanding and defending voting rights and civil rights; addressing the enormous need to upgrade our country’s infrastructure; etc. Still, it’s good to see Democrats generally focusing on super-important issues.
• Meanwhile, in a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of New Hampshire, I’m glad to see strong majorities of Democrats believe that the nominee should support the Green New Deal (53%-19%), Medicare-for-All (76%-16%), and higher taxes on the very wealthy (82%-13%). 
• Finally, Emerson is out with a new poll of Texas (see screen shot, below), which has great news for Democrats: “Trump is in statistical dead heats with four of the top six Democratic opponents.” I mean, if Democrats win Texas in 2020, it’s game/set/match for Trump. Hell, even if it’s super close, it’s a good sign for Dems nationally. So let’s hope this is the case.

And with that brief detour to the 2020 presidential race, it’s back to winning the Virginia General Assembly in November 2019! 🙂

UPDATE: Yet another new poll, this one by Quinnipiac University, finds that 52% of voters nationally say they absolutely will *not* vote for Trump, while just 33% say they will definitely vote *for* Trump.