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If you’ve got a moment away from the mall today, here’s yet another national publication chiming in on the Democrats surprising wins in Colorado on Election Day. Says The Nation:
Imagine a parallel universe where, instead of crying in their beer as the election results rolled in on November 2, Democrats were raising microbrews in toasts to their unprecedented success.
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To his credit, writer John Nichols does step beyond what’s already been written and finds a Western trend that spreads beyond Colorado’s borders:
Shifting demographics, local issues and the extent to which the presidential contest was fought out on the ground had varying influences on state results. But there were some constants: Western Democrats tended to abandon the national party’s template and focus on local issues, they relied far more heavily on volunteers than paid staff and they worked much, much harder — and with considerable success — to attract rural voters.
Read the whole article for more on the trends in Montana, Nevada, Utah, and even Wyoming.