‘End of an Era’: Pundits Declare Trump ‘Resistance 1.0’ Dead After String of Primary Losses

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

As the dust settled Wednesday morning on another primary election night, pundits and observers were quick to note, in the wake of Alexander Vindman’s loss in Florida, that anti-Trump “resistance” figures no longer seem to interest Democratic Party voters.

Vindman, who was a key witness in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, lost his primary for the U.S. Senate in Florida to progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon (D). Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is not widely viewed as a viable general election candidate in Florida, but still managed to best Vindman – despite his massive fundraising advantage.

“It’s kind of been a rough set of primaries for Heroes of the Resistance 1.0 between Vindman losing tonight, Dan Goldman losing his seat (although there were other issues there) and George Conway getting only 6% of the vote in NY-12. People want to move on,” wrote election forecaster Nate Silver of the result.

Veteran political journalist Dave Weigel listed off some other Trump resistance figures who lost this year, adding, “Did Vindman’s loss close the book on ‘Resistance 1.0’? Sure, why not. George Conway, Al Green, Dan Goldman, Tom Steyer – lots of Dems losing this year after they remind voters that they fought to impeach Trump, and voters cringe at the memory.”

In a lengthy post, Weigel recounted the fervor during Trump’s first term surrounding the various investigations that Democrats believed would bring him down.

“Vindman was a central figure of the first Trump impeachment, which made him (like his brother) a fundraising machine. Voters had moved on. Nixon was an especially fit candidate to beat him; she got to Tallahassee as Trump was leaving office and was there, protesting and losing, as DeSantis dismantled Democratic Party power and won the culture wars. Impeachment not only didn’t stop Trump; the conservative movement was *more powerful* than Trump,” he added, concluding:

There’s no clear post-Trump Democratic strategy to regain what they’ve lost since 2016. But they know that they lost and that there’s no magic How Dare You Sir button that will remove him. Healthy imo.

Weigel also noted that 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who was also ousted by a DSA upstart, served as a Trump impeachment manager during his first term.

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