Team Trump turns to Rove playbook to juice 2018 turnout
Source: Politico
Republicans are considering putting hot-button initiatives on the ballot to excite the base when little else currently is.
By ALEX ISENSTADT 08/28/2017 04:56 AM EDT
Donald Trump’s White House may take a page from the Karl Rove playbook.
The administration has been in talks to put conservative initiatives on the ballot in 2018 midterm battleground states in hopes of energizing base voters dispirited by the performance of Republican-controlled Washington.
The strategy is similar to the one Rove used in 2004. The George W. Bush political guru helped engineer a slate of anti-gay marriage amendments that year to boost GOP turnout in swing states such as Ohio, an approach that many are convinced helped pave the way for Bush’s reelection. (Rove has denied accounts that he orchestrated the 11-state effort.)
White House aides are less interested in a ballot initiative campaign focused on social issues, fearful it would serve to only further stoke an already-motivated liberal base. Instead, according to three people familiar with the deliberations, they're considering initiatives involving tax reform and other economic issues seen as more likely to invigorate conservatives. Tax reform also goes to the heart of Trump’s agenda, and he's expected to spend much of the fall pursuing it.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/28/trump-karl-rove-2018-elections-242074
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