As Obama met policy goals, his political party foundered

WASHINGTON — In boasting about his tenure in the White Hous e , P re s i d e n t Barack Obama often cites numbers like these: 15 million new jobs, a 4.9 percent unemployment rate and months of consecutive job growth.

There’s one number you will almost never hear: More than 1,030 seats.

That’s the number of spots in state legislatures, governor’s mansions and Congress lost by Democrats during Obama’s presidency.

It’s a statistic that reveals an unexpected twist of the Obama years: The leadership of the one-time community organizer and champion of ground-up politics was rough on the grassroots of his own party. When Obama exits the White House, he’ll leave behind a Democratic Party that languished in his shadow for years and is searching for itself.

“What’s happened on the ground is that voters have been punishing Democrats for eight solid years — it’s been exhausting,” said South Carolina state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, who lost two gubernatorial campaigns to Nikki Haley, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to the U.N. “If I was talking about a local or state issue, voters would always lapse back into a national topic: Barack Obama.”

When Obama won the presidency, his election was heralded as a moment of Democratic dominance — the crashing of a conservative wave that had swept the country since the dawn of the Reagan era.

Democrats believed that t h e c o a l i t i o n o f y o u n g , minority and female voters who swept Obama into the White House would usher in something new: an ascendant Democratic majority that would ensure party gains for decades to come.

The coalition, it turns out, was Obama’s alone.

After this year’s elections, Democrats hold the governor’s offiffice and both legislative chambers in just fifive coastal states: Oregon, California, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware. Republicans have the trifecta in 25, giving them control of a broad swath of the middle of the country.

The defeats have all but wiped out a generation of yo u n g De moc r a t s , l e aving the party with limited he defeated Hillary Clinton, the pick of the party insiders, to win the Democratic presidential nomination.

I n t h e W h i t e H o u s e , Obama’s failure to do the typical Washington schmoozing was a constant source of complaint among congressional Democrats, as was his reluctance to endorse down-ballot candidates and inability to parlay Organizing for Action, his grassroots organization, into a signifificant force.

State parties languished and the Democratic National Committee struggled with dysfunction and debt.

“We built this beautiful house, but the foundation is rotten,” said South Caropower in statehouses and lina Democratic Chairman a thin bench to challenge Jaime Harrison, a candidate to an ascendant GOP majority lead the Democratic National eager to undo many of the Committee. “In hindsight we president’s policies. To be should have looked at this sure, the president’s party and said, ‘Maybe the state almost always loses seats in parties should be strong.’” midterm elections. But, say Toward the end of his presexperts, Obama’s tenure has idency, Obama began doing marked the greatest number more, stepping in to assist of losses under any president more than 150 state legislain decades. tive candidates in October

“Obama just figured his and campaigning across the important actions on policies country for Clinton. like immigration and health He’s indicated he intends care would solidify support, to make partisan politics a but that hasn’t really materibigger piece of his post-presialized,” said Daniel Galvin, dential life. Aides say Obama a political science professor will be closely involved in an at Northwestern University effffffffffffort to focus on drawing disand the author of a book on trict lines more in the favor presidential party building. of Democrats. “He’s done basically the minThe president’s advisers imal amount of party buildblame the losses on such ing, and it’s been insuffifficient structural trends. They point to help the party.” to a flflood of Republican super

It’s a political reality that PAC dollars and a resurgence Obama has only been willof Republican political power ing to acknowledge publicly in statehouses. That stateafter his party’s devastating level dominance has given November losses. He’s admitRepublicans the ability to ted he failed to create “a susredraw district lines and cretaining organization” around ated voting rules that could the political force that twice benefifit their party for years elected him to offiffice. to come.

“That’s something I would The refusal by many Demhave liked to have done more ocrats to accept help from of, but it’s kind of hard to do Obama in the 2010 and 2014 when you’re also dealing with midterms was also a strategic a whole bunch of issues here mistake, they argue. in the White House,” he said “Frankly, when people at his year-end press conhave asked, the president ference. has been more than willing

It is perhaps not surpristo engage,” said David Simas, ing that Obama — a politician Obama’s political director. who promised a post-party Some Democrats blame era — turned out not to be a Obama f o r a n exe c u t ive party stalwart. agenda that highlighted social

Obama and his aides came issues — such as transgender into offiffice neither beholden rights and access to birth conto his party’s establishment, trol — over the economic anxnor particularly interested in iety still felt by many voters. reinforcing his party’s weak “T h e b a c k l a s h t o t h e spots. Obama presidency was per

He electrified the 2004 haps bigger than any of us Democratic National Conreally realized,” said Simon vention with a speech seekRosenberg, president of the ing common cause over party New Democratic Network, a difffffffffffferences. Four years later, Democratic think tank. Approve Disapprove Undecided Approve Disapprove Undecided Approve Disapprove Undecided 56% 40% 4% 55% 45% 5% 51% 44% 5%