I spoke with Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News about the phenomenon of deep blue states electing Republican governors in the age of Trump:

It’s a familiar script to the one employed by other blue-state Republican governors, including Charlie Baker in Massachusetts and Larry Hogan in Maryland, who is on a campaign swing with Democrats who support him.

“In a counterintuitive way, the polarized national environment accentuates the very things that make these figures appealing,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican consultant. “Moderate sensibility focused on local policy issues rather than political wedges, capacity (indeed, necessity) to work in a bipartisan way, and a tone that resonates regardless of party.”

Read the entire piece here.

I spoke with Claire Williams of Morning Consult about President Trump’s recent floating of a middle class tax cut and the political impact of TCJA (or lack thereof):

And Trump’s bid to capitalize on the strong market performance could have a downside. A market rout on Wednesday sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 600 points and the Nasdaq down 4.4 percent, although most major market indicators largely recovered a day later. Despite any volatility in the market, GOP strategists hope voters will take a longer-term view of the economy.

“Big picture over the past two years, the job market is doing very well,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist and lobbyist. “We’ll see if there’s a blip. What’s on the front pages in the next few weeks could matter on the margins.”

Read the entire piece here.

Mic nabbed my tweet about the political value of righteous fury:

Experts seem to think Republican excitement, which is now fueled by elation that their party notched a win, is momentary and will fade as the election draws near, while Democratic enthusiasm — which is fueled by anger — will sustain itself.

“Anger is electoral rocket fuel,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan tweeted, but added that for Republicans it’s “harder to sustain when you get what you want.”

https://twitter.com/LPDonovan/status/1047884840316690433

Read the entire piece here.