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Democratic and Republican candidates and elected officials in the 15th Legislative District said theyre optimistic about their parties futures in the wake of this years election results.

The districts boundaries were redrawn in 2011, creating the states first majority Latino district. It covers the eastern part of Yakima County, taking in part of Selah and Yakima and winding into the Lower Valley, including Toppenish, Sunnyside, Grandview and part of Wapato.

Election results lately have shown a pretty consistent conservative-liberal split, with about 60% of votes cast for Republican candidates compared to about 40% for Democrats.

About 12,000 more people voted in the District 15 House races in 2020 compared with 2018. The vote splits for Republicans and Democrats were nearly identical.

Republican Jeremie Dufault of Selah, recently re-elected to his second term for the districts Position 2 House seat, said his values, and the values of the larger Republican Party, resonate with the districts Latino voters.

I am a family-oriented, pro-life, Catholic entrepreneur who believes in smaller and smarter government, Dufault said. I believe strongly in the value of education and the need to work hard and to take personal responsibility for your actions. Those values put me squarely in line with most of my constituents, including Latinos.

Dufault defeated Democratic challenger A.J. Cooper with 59% of votes to Coopers 41%. In 2018, Dufault received 60% of votes to Coopers 39%. About 45,890 people voted for the two candidates this year in the race, compared with 33,545 total votes in 2018.

This year was an outlier year in many races, but Republican candidates continued to do well in the 15th District, Dufault said. I am grateful to my constituents for giving me more votes than any other state legislative candidate has ever received in the current 15th District.

Cooper said the 15th Districts Democrats are a resilient group, ready to bounce back.

Cooper also noted that the Yakama Nation is split into two different legislative districts, as is the city of Yakima. Selah also is split, with part of the community falling into the 13th District with Ellensburg and Moses Lake.

Position 1

Longtime Republican state Rep. Bruce Chandler of Granger, recently re-elected to Position 1, also faced off against the same challenger, Jack McEntire of Selah, from 2018. Chandler received 58% of votes this year compared to about 60% in the previous election cycle.

McEntire said he believes the majority of District 15 residents are Democrats, but that lower percentages register and vote. He sees the Democratic foothold growing as more people realize the importance of voting and turn out to elections.

The working person is the majority, he said, and the Democratic Party is poised to serve the working person. People are gravitating toward candidates that show respect to others, respect the norms and traditions of governance, and health care, and this is an issue Democrats are prepared to handle.

McEntire also predicted Republicans will remain a minority of representation in Olympia, and anticipated people who want Central Washington concerns heard in the state Capitol will see a need for a Democratic representative.

More and more people are feeling empowered to get out there and vote, believing that their voices matter, he said.

Chandler agreed with Dufault, saying the majority of Yakima voters still staunchly support Republican values.

Historically the Yakima Valley was an area where people came to start a new life or redeem their lives, he said. There are still high expectations for families, opportunities, and the Valley being a good place to live, and a lot of interest in the conservative values and the priorities of Republicans.

Issues

District 15 candidates had different takeaways as well from this years election results about voter values.

Cooper noted Democratic candidates pushed for keeping communities safe and healthy during the pandemic, while supporting small businesses and those who had lost their jobs or health care. The party also focused on other important issues, such as water conservation and clean water, education, livable wages, accessible health care and ensuring that everyone, including communities of color and LGBTQ individuals, were included and kept safe, she added.

Dufault said a major takeaway was that Yakima County voters showed they wont stand for new taxes. While Democrats in Seattle have started conversations about higher property, business and gas taxes as well as an income tax, Dufault said election results from Yakima County show where voters priorities lie.

When given the chance to vote directly on taxes, local and even statewide voters consistently point out that Olympia has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, he said.

For McEntire, who has a degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Washington, debates locally and nationwide about COVID-19 and climate change highlighted that the Democratic Party stands behind science, a value he said is resonating with increasing numbers of voters.

Chandler said agriculture will remain a cornerstone and economic driver, as will the Yakima airport and employment through Hanford.

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Democrats, Republicans both see bright future for their parties in District 15 - Yakima Herald-Republic

JTA Elissa Slotkin, the rare Democrat who won reelection in a district where US President Donald Trump got a majority, is urging her fellow Democrats: dont make a shanda before the GOP.

There are people both inside and outside the party who are looking to split it apart, Slotkin told Politico in a story posted Friday, the last in a series chronicling her bid to keep her Michigan district straddling Detroits suburbs and Lansing.

And thats the least strategic thing I can think of its handing these anti-democratic forces that Im so concerned about a gift, she said. While I disagree with a lot of people in my party, I still have a lot in common with them. And it would be what we call in Yiddish a shanda, a shame, a deep shame, if internal politics led to a strategic opening for these completely anti-democratic forces.

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Slotkin and several others who flipped Republican seats in 2018 kept their districts, but many are out; Republicans gained at least 15 seats this election, although Democrats have maintained the majority.

Slotkin, a moderate who was elected after a long career in the national security sector, later told the Jewish Democratic Council of America that she was proud to use the Yiddishism.

There was a Politico article out today, she said in the Zoom call. We did like a series for Politico, and in my district, we have less than 4,000 Jews, we have a very small Jewish community, but I got the word shanda into that article, and then they had to explain it, including the journalist who never heard it, and so I feel Im doing my part to further the culture of the Jewish people.

Tim Alberta, the journalist in question, confirmed his prior ignorance on Twitter. My Yiddish is rusty, he said.

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Jewish congresswoman warns Democrats infighting leading to shanda - The Times of Israel

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader in the Senate, said on Monday that Trump was "100% within his rights" to consider legal challenges to the election results, and he lambasted Democrats as hypocrites.

But the reality is, while Democrats expressed disappointment at the 2016 election results, most of the party's leadership in Congress, the White House and at the Democratic National Committee congratulated then-President-elect Trump. They also pledged to work with his team to facilitate the transition and to work with his administration where their views aligned, while promising to stand up for their values when he challenged them. Their behavior four years ago mirrors the tradition followed by most administrations before them, and underscores how Trump and his allies have broken with decades of precedent in how transfers of power are conducted.

Emily W. Murphy, Trump's head of the General Services Administration, has refused to recognize the incoming Biden administration. The GSA's recognition would kick off the formal transition process, and by refusing to acknowledge Biden's victory the agency is making clear that it won't get ahead of the President.

Yet the day after the 2016 election, then-President Barack Obama ordered the White House to ensure a smooth transition, including the GSA.

Clinton delivered a speech the day after her election loss congratulating Trump.

CNN's KFile reviewed statements from Democratic leaders and Clinton allies in 2016 acknowledging their loss. Here's what they said:

Sen. Chuck Schumer

In comparison with McConnell's refusal to acknowledge Trump's loss, Chuck Schumer of New York, the then-incoming Democratic minority leader in the Senate, took the opposite approach, and congratulated Trump.

By contrast, the then-outgoing minority leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, was less diplomatic. Reid was retiring and didn't have to work with Republicans or Trump and, though he acknowledged Trump's victory, he harshly criticized him, saying Trump was "a sexual predator who lost the popular vote and fueled his campaign with bigotry and hate."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California refused to acknowledge Trump's loss on Thursday and declined to say if Biden should receive classified intelligence briefings.

In 2016, Nancy Pelosi of California was House minority leader for the Democrats and acknowledged the election results the day Trump's victory was called.

Pelosi concluded her statement by saying: "I congratulate President-elect Trump and his family, and pray for his success."

Then-Rep. Joe Crowley

In 2016, then Rep. Joe Crowley of New York was vice chairman of the House Democrats, and he congratulated Trump the day after the election.

Then-Secretary of State John Kerry

On November 10, 2016, one day after the race was called, then-Secretary of State John Kerry took the opposite approach: congratulating Trump and pledging a peaceful transfer of power.

"I sent a note to all of our personnel within the State Department this morning reiterating what I have said to them personally before I left the country to come here, and that is that we have a time-honored tradition of a very peaceful and constructive transfer of power within administrations when that occurs in the United States."

Then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

"Last night our fellow American citizens voted for a new President," Carter said. "I am very proud of the way each and every one of you conducted yourselves during this campaign, standing apart from politics and instead focusing on our sacred mission of providing security. I am committed to overseeing the orderly transition to the next Commander in Chief."

Former Secretary of Defense Mike Esper was fired by Trump on Monday and the President named Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as acting secretary. Neither Esper nor Miller has publicly commented on the election or the transition to the Biden administration.

Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has refused to acknowledge Trump's loss, echoing his claims about voter irregularities.

"We want to congratulate President-elect Donald Trump for his apparent Electoral College victory last night," Brazile said. "After this fierce campaign, now is the time for leaders from both parties to strive in good-faith to bridge our deep political divides, and work together in service to our one United States of America."

Clinton campaign Press Secretary Brian Fallon

In comparison, the national press secretary for Clinton's campaign, Brian Fallon, sent out a tweet the day after the election congratulating Trump.

Sen. Jon Tester, then-head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the incoming chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is tasked with electing Republicans to the Senate, encouraged Trump to challenge the election results last Saturday after national media outlets called the election for Biden.

By contrast, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the then-head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, took the opposite approach and said he'd be willing to work with Trump.

Read more:
How Democratic leaders handled the 2016 election loss and transition - CNN

Democrats everywhere should say Thank you to President Trump for believing them capable of stealing the presidential election. His accusations imply a grand organizational genius that many would have thought was beyond them. As we all know, it took a mastermind to enlist innumerable people to alter millions of votes in multiple states under the noses of thousands of poll watchers and election officials, many of whom were Republicans. And in total secrecy without one single co-conspirator breathing a word!

Ill bet the Democrats wish they had paid as much attention to fixing the down ballot races. Then they wouldnt have lost so many House seats and would have retaken the Senate.

The president hasnt spoken this highly of his opposing partys abilities since he described the coronavirus pandemic as a Democratic hoax. Its hard to believe that they were able to cancel the Olympics, shut down whole countries and tank the worlds economies, just so they could hinder the presidents reelection effort. But, the president said it. So, it must be true, right?

If the Democrats are capable of everything the president says, maybe we ought to vote for them. If they can pull off these plots, imagine what they could do with the economy, global warming, immigration and world peace.

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Your View: Democrats should thank Trump for believing them capable of stealing election - Bristol Herald Courier

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All but one of the Republicans running statewide campaigns in Texas this year beat their opponents by 8 to 11 percentage points. The one? President Donald Trump, who beat Joe Biden by 5.8 percentage points.

Statewide, Texas Republicans outperformed the leader of their ticket.

In several places along the Texas border, the opposite happened. Much has been written about Trumps strong performance in the persistently blue counties on the Texas-Mexico border. His border supporters were numerous and enthusiastic. The New York Times sent reporters to Zapata County, which flipped from its customary spot on the Democratic side of the aisle to a seat on the Republican side. The Wall Street Journal went to Starr, where Trump improved dramatically on historical Republican results.

But its not like those blue counties switched sides altogether. Voters there supported Trump in most cases that meant he still lost, but by less than in his first race in 2016 but then many of them went back to voting more or less like they usually do.

Start with Zapata County. Chrysta Castaeda, a Democrat running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, beat Republican Jim Wright in Zapata by 531 votes. (Wright won statewide, by almost 10 percentage points.) At the same time, Trump was beating Biden in Zapata County by 212 votes.

Castaeda wasnt the odd duck on that countys ballots. Trump was. While he was winning, the same Republican candidates who outperformed him statewide were often losing. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn landed 363 votes behind MJ Hegar. Nathan Hecht, the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, lost to Democrat Amy Clark Meachum in Zapata by 512 votes. The chief got 53% of the statewide vote, but in Zapata County, he only got 41%.

Its both interesting and not that consequential. Only 3,279 people voted in Zapata County. Many of the border counties are rural, and a change in a relatively small number of votes can produce outsized percentage shifts.

Even so, this election marked a significant and unusual change of direction. If Trump had performed like the rest of the Republican ticket, the border votes wouldnt be a topic of conversation. And in some ways, the numbers point to a result thats more complicated than a county moving from one party to the other.

Several of these counties only did it for the president.

Some actually flipped, like Val Verde County, where Del Rio is the county seat. Trump won by 1,438 votes. Cornyn won by 1,454. Hecht didnt hold the same margin, but he finished 612 votes ahead of Meachum.

In others, Trump closed the gap but still lost to Biden. In Starr County, where Rio Grande City is the seat, Trump lost by 875 votes or 5 percentage points. Thats a remarkably good showing for a Republican in a statewide race. At the same time, Wright, the Republican in the Railroad Commission race, was losing by 3,581 votes to Castaeda, the Democrat. Thats a 25-percentage-point gap. Hechts numbers were similar the kind of results Republicans have come to expect in what has been a reliably Democratic part of the state.

Statewide, more than 447,890 people who voted in the presidential race didnt vote in the lowest race on the statewide ballot, a contest for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. By that point, voters had looked at all of the statewide races and their local race for Congress. They were just about to enter the section of the ballot for seats in the Texas Legislature.

Some wore out even faster: 172,135 fewer people voted in the second race on the ballot for U.S. senator than in the presidential race.

That means 98.5% were still around for the Senate race, and 97.3% of the presidential voters stuck in there until that judicial race. Statewide, fewer than 3% quit the ballot before voting in the legislative races.

Some of the presidents border voters hung in there. In Val Verde County, 96.5% made it from the presidential race down to the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. But in Zapata County, just under 85% did, and in Starr County, about 79% made it.

The rest voted in the top races and then went on about their business.

Disclosure: The New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Analysis: Many in South Texas split their vote between Trump and Democrats - The Texas Tribune