The Article below was published in Vol. 135, Issue 6 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on March 6, 2020.
By Nathaniel Bodnar ’21
Staff Writer
The big winner of the 2020 presidential primaries, so far, has been President Donald Trump. The failed impeachment hearing has been a catalyst for Trump’s supporters to go to the polls. Trump’s Republican opponents have no legitimate chance of winning. His voters are voting for no other reason than to show their support for the president. Their votes aren’t deciding who the Republican nominee is. In fact, many states, like Nevada, canceled their Republican primary because Trump isn’t being challenged. The amount of people coming out to support Donald Trump far exceeds the numbers typically expected in a primary race with an incumbent president.
In New Hampshire, Donald Trump received roughly 130,000 votes. This shattered the previous record of votes for an incumbent president. Bill Clinton received 76,797 votes in 1996 as the incumbent. With all candidates considered, the Democrats had more votes in New Hampshire, but Trump had no legitimate challengers and was still able to inspire his supporters to get out and vote in large numbers. Trump also received more votes than the Democratic primary race winner, Senator Bernie Sanders.
Impeachment was a failed tactical move. There was no realistic chance that Trump was going to be removed from office. There was not a chance that 15+ Republicans in Congress would publicly defy Trump and vote for his removal from office. The risk of facing his and his supporter’s wrath is too high of a price to pay. Impeachment was impractical and all for show. Unfortunately for Democrats, impeachment ignited the Trump base and then, upon its failure, the base became emboldened. His base is now energized and is showing their energy in the Republican primaries. Trump’s base is as strong as ever.
In the debate last week, Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg pointed out that this election cycle is about more than just the presidency. The house and senate are up for grabs too, and they are still critical to the short- and long-term goals of the Democratic National Committee. The rest of the party needs to realize this. Impeachment was a tactical blunder that was intended to help them in the presidential race. Not only has it hurt them in the presidential race, but it could also cost them down-ballot votes. Democrats need to realize that Trump isn’t a joke. He is as strong as he’s ever been. The party can’t afford to have this primary drag on any longer, but they also need a candidate that can unify the party. If the Democrats don’t get their act together and they instead remain fractured, Trump’s base will carry him back to the White House.
