Liberal MSM Not Helping Weak Liberal Candidates

With just more than 30 days to go until the midterm elections, it’s nice to be a Democrat.

The mainstream media is busy doing what the mainstream media does: Buck up weak Democratic candidates while trying every which way to make the Republicans look like evil incarnate.

The funny thing? It’s not helping, at least in the cases of Beto O’Rourke and Stacey Abrams.

O’Rourke, who famously said “I’m just born to be in it” right before he got crushed in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, is going up against Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). Meanwhile, Abrams — who famously refused to accept that she lost her gubernatorial bid in 2018, saying the election was “rigged” and the outcome “stolen” — is in a rematch with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R).

The most recent poll in Texas, taken by Quinnipiac, shows Abbott leading O’Rourke 53-46. A running average of all polls compiled by RealClearPolitics.com (RCP) gives Abbott an 8-point lead.

Meanwhile, the latest Fox News poll shows Kemp leading Abrams by 7 points, while the RCP average puts the lead at 6.6 points.

The fact that they’re both trailing — despite “glossy magazine profiles” and “soft press coverage” — surprised the liberal website Politico.

“O’Rourke hasn’t led in a single survey since he announced his candidacy last November, and Abrams is barely doing better,” Politico’s deputy editor Calder McHugh wrote.

“Their anointment as the future of the Democratic Party — young, dynamic and erudite — led to glossy magazine profiles and soft press coverage that may have burnished their national profiles but did little to advance their prospects among voters who weren’t already inclined to support them,” McHugh wrote.

O’Rourke, who announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019 with a Vanity Fair cover shot taken by Annie Liebowitz, hasn’t helped his own cause. In one early debate, O’Rourke told the audience, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”

That didn’t go over very well in the pro-gun state and O’Rourke dropped out of the race shortly after.

Down in Georgia, Abrams has enjoyed friendly coverage as well. A gushing Vogue profile pondered whether she can “Save American Democracy.” And a piece by The Washington Post featured a shot of her wearing a superhero-style cape, noting that she “lost by fewer than 2 percentage points in the 2018 Georgia race riddled with allegations of voter suppression.”

“For her part, Abrams was haunted by the conclusion of the 2018 governor’s race, where she initially refused to concede, alleging voter suppression and that the result didn’t accurately reflect the will of the people,” McHugh wrote in Politico. “She’s been explaining herself ever since, aiming to draw a distinction between her position and the accusations of election fraud made by former President Donald Trump.”

But the Post’s fact checker, Glenn Kessler, said Abrams’ repeated denial that she lost means “she’s little different from former president Donald Trump.”

She has sought to distance herself from her earlier claims, saying last month, “My point was that the access to the election was flawed, and I refuse to concede a system that permits citizens to be denied access. That is very different than someone claiming fraudulent outcome.”

Even that was wrong. A federal judge has ruled against an organization founded by Abrams, stating that the Georgia’s election practices do not violate constitutional rights.

After a four-year legal battle, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones said: “Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the [Voting Rights Act] VRA.”

In the end, it’s clear that both Abrams and O’Rourke are damaged goods and, despite the glowing coverage of swooning liberal press outlets, both appear headed for big defeats.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.