2018 Election Not A Popularity Contest

There are now only 77 days until the midterm elections. Most of the polls think that the Democrats will win just like two years ago. The election ended up with a Republican victory when it was all said and done. If anything it looks like the Republicans could win another election while losing the popular vote. In the 2000 presidential election the republicans won the election while the democrats won the popular vote. in 2004 they won both the popular vote and the election. In 2008 and 2012 the democrats won both the electoral college and the popular vote. In 2016 the republicans won the election wile the democrats won the popular vote. In the past 5 elections the republicans have won the election 2 times without winning the popular vote.

In 1996 the Republicans won the congressional election while losing the popular vote. In 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 they both won the election outright and the popular vote. In 2006 and 2008 the Democrats won both the house and the popular vote. In 2010 the republicans took back the house and the popular vote. In 2012 the republicans keep the house while losing the popular vote. In 2014 and 2016 the republicans keep won both the popular vote and the house. In three of the past 10 congressional elections the Republicans have won the house while losing the popular vote.

Unlike the senate and presidential election every state has two senators. The house and electoral college is based off of a states population with each state having at least 1 congressman and 3 votes in the electoral college and the largest state California having over 50. The popular vote does not factor that much in the senate race. In presidential primaries the winner of the popular vote in recent history almost always gets the nomination. The one example where this did not happen was in 2008 win Hilary Clinton won the popular vote while Obama won the nomination. The nominate is won by winning the most delegates. Delegates are picked by state by the number of party members and population. This means that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in both of her presidential runs and still lost. This also means that the last three presidents: Trump, Obama, and Bush were elected either in the primary or general election without winning the popular vote. The last president to be elected and re-elected and win the popular vote in both primary and general elections was Bill Clinton. 

In the last general election 16 races were population matters the republicans party won the race without winning the popular vote. The democrats have won five of them winning the popular vote each time and the republicans have also won the popular vote five times and also the election. This shows that wile the democrats do good at the popular vote the republicans do good where it counts since 1996. To put it in prescriptive the Republican party has controlled either congress or the presidency for all but two years of my lifetime. They have dominated politics since 1994 like it or not.