In Minnesota and Beyond, 'Defund the Police' Weighed on Democrats [View all]

MINNEAPOLIS—In the state where “defund the police” became a progressive rallying cry following the killing of George Floyd, the phrase is now being blamed for harming down-ballot Democrats both here and nationally after some suburban voters were repelled by the message. President-elect Joe Biden easily carried Minnesota, but the push to cut police funding contributed to Democratic losses of a U.S. House seat in western Minnesota and six state Senate races, say political strategists here. They add that critical Republican ads that followed the defunding calls also hurt Democrats.

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The outcomes in Minnesota were echoed elsewhere, too, as Republicans found success in local and congressional races by turning progressive slogans such as “defund the police” into political weapons. Some races have yet to be called, but Democrats might lose close to 10 U.S. House seats. After the election, House Majority Whip James Clyburn criticized calls to defund the police and suggested the phrase hurt Democrats in down-ballot races, specifically pointing to Rep. Joe Cunningham’s loss in South Carolina. The defund theme is currently playing in television ads airing in Georgia as part of two runoff elections that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. In one sponsored by Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue, the phrase is highlighted along with other liberal proposals as a narrator suggests they would “radically change America.”

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But down-ballot in Minnesota and beyond, a different story played out. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a progressive Democrat who has sparred with Mr. Trump, received a vote share more than 15 percentage points lower than Mr. Biden’s. She supports dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department and reallocating its resources.

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In 2016, fewer than 4 percentage points separated Mrs. Clinton and then-Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat who is now the state’s attorney general, in the district. In both that election and this year’s contest there were three names on the ballot. In 2020, a year where turnout was up, Ms. Omar received about 6,000 more votes than Mr. Ellison did four years earlier. The voting outcome in Minneapolis, a Democratic stronghold, in many ways exemplifies broader rifts within the party. The city has been a national focus of criminal-justice issues since the May 25 death of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police.

Since then, crime has risen sharply, exacerbating longstanding fault lines between community activists and elected officials. Memories are still fresh from summer protests that at times spun out of control and resulted in the takeover of a police precinct, fires and widespread looting. Residents are still blocking police from entering the intersection where Mr. Floyd was killed, an area covered with flowers, murals and messages spray-painted on streets. So far this year, there have been 73 murders in Minneapolis and 3,425 car thefts, compared with 48 murders and 2,873 car thefts for all of 2019. As violent crime spreads, the defund message is now viewed as a mistake by many, including those who want to see changes to policing.

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Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said his organization has traditionally backed more Democrats than Republicans in the state’s legislative races. That changed in this year’s election, after Democrats pushed numerous pieces of state criminal-justice legislation. “That signaled to us that they were coming after law enforcement,” Mr. Peters said. “We mounted a very aggressive stance and it hurt the Democrats considerably.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-minnesota-and-beyond-defund-the-police-weighed-on-democrats-11605700803 (subscription)

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The reference to Clyburn

Democratic Whip James Clyburn: 'Defund the police' cost Democrats seats, hurt Black Lives Matter movement

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/08/james-clyburn-defund-police-cost-democrats-seats-hurt-black-lives-matter/6216371002/