Friday, December 11, 2015

Can you believe there's...

...talk of a Romney - Ryan redux in 2016? (Ask yourself: Is that any crazier than the thought of a Donald Trump candidacy?) It's true; in the event of a deadlocked convention, the party may once again turn to its 2012 ticket. (Go to the very end of this video.)

So here's my question: With a recovering economy in a little better shape than in 2012, and with President Obama's approval ratings essentially the same, what states, exactly, would a Romney - Ryan ticket hope to win that it didn't capture last time?

Let's have a look at the three closest states Obama won in 2012: Florida, Ohio and Virginia. Altogether they add up to 60 Electoral votes. If you subtract those from Obama's total of 332 and add them to Romney's 206 you still get an Obama victory, 272-266.

In fact, Obama won nine of the ten closest states. Again, what would make anyone think Romney (or any Republican candidate, for that matter) would do better this time around?

Remember how people talked four years ago about drafting Jeb to come in and save the day? Now the tables are turned and Romney may be the new GOP savior. Here's a prediction for you: I'll say Hillary beats whomever the Republicans nominate in 2016 by an even greater margin than Obama did in 2012.

No comments: