While Democrats contemplate their hangover after the GOP took control of the U.S. Senate last night for the first time in eight years, along comes Tom Jensen, Director of Public Policy Polling, to release a statement declaring how the political landscape heavily favors Democrats in 2016.
After interviewing more than a thousand voters in critical battleground states that were fought over this year and will be in 2016 (including Florida), Jensen writes that his polling shows "broad support" for issues like increasing the minimum wage and passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, allowing people to refinance student loans at lower rates, and avoiding cuts to Social Security and Medicare — all considered to be issues associated with Democrats.
Raising the minimum wage is an obvious winner, as four states across the country last night — Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — passed measures to do so. Alaska’s measure will increase the minimum wage to $9.75 in 2016, the Arkansas measure raises the minimum wage to $8.50 by 2017, Nebraska’s will rise to $9 by 2016 and South Dakota’s goes to $8.50.
Jensen writes that, "Despite the Republican victory last night there continues to be clear support for the public on all of these issues. The GOP may still be able to win in places like Kentucky and Arkansas without acting on them, but their stances won’t fly in places like Florida, Ohio, and Virginia that will be the most important states in 2016. Continued inaction by them on these issues will put Democrats in position to have another strong Presidential year like they did in 2008 and 2012."
Additionally, while Floridians who supported Amendment Two are mourning the fact that while the measure received a clear majority of support at 57 percent, it nevertheless failed by 3 percentage points of becoming law in the Sunshine State. Florida becomes the first state to have such a measure defeated at the polls.
But nationally the trend continues to allow Americans to get high without the fear of criminal retribution. Oregon, Alaska and in the District of Columbia all voted to legalize pot last night, prompting a headline writer for the Daily Beast to consider, "Congress can now get stoned."
Here's the complete memo by PPP's Jensen.
