One of the biggest political stories of 2022 was how the Republican Party fielded an unusually large number of weak candidates for Senate and gubernatorial primaries. Republicans’ failure to elevate candidates with wide appeal cost them dearly in the November midterms, when they bungled potentially winnable contests in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona and elsewhere.
But there was a less-noticed but equally important story on the Democratic side. In a surprising number of contests, the Democratic Party was able to clear the field for its preferred candidates by persuading other contenders not to run at all or even to drop out in the middle of their campaign.
Though it was more in evidence in 2022 than ever, Democrats’ ability to rally around nominees before primary elections goes back more than a decade. Efforts to coalesce around a single candidate, even when it requires bridging strong divides within the party, are a key reason why Democrats have been able to produce significant legislative accomplishments without having commanding majorities in Congress.
