Dire Straits

Jonathan Martin:

Thumped convincingly in consecutive election cycles, the Republican Party now finds itself in its worst straits since the rise of the conservative coalition — a minority party without the White House, fewer seats in the House and Senate, only 21 governors and full control of just 14 state legislatures.

Most ominous for Republicans, the GOP is increasingly becoming less grand than old — and outdated. As reflected in Tuesday’s results and exit polls, it’s a party that is overwhelmingly white, rural and aged in a country that is rapidly becoming racially mixed, suburban and dominated by a post-Baby Boomer generation with no memory of Vietnam or the familiar culture wars of the past.

...The hope now is that this election will offer a political cleansing of sorts, with Democratic dominance providing a fresh opportunity for Republicans to rebuild around new leaders, draw sharper contrasts and articulate conservative principles in a way that will lead moderate voters who’ve abandoned the GOP back into the fold.