Why is the Democratic party falling behind in popularity?

[The3rdCatalyst]

Is the national popularity of the Republican party because of emotional manipulation from corporate interest or is it actual Republican success/Democrat failure?

[Kujako]

They're not, it's mostly gerrymandering.

[Annoying]

It's because of gerrymandering. The house popular vote was 52% republican/48% democrat. You'd expect to see 209/226 on the first chart based on popular vote. So you'd have seen GOP -8 instead of GOP +13.

[The3rdCatalyst]

They're not, it's mostly gerrymandering.

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

[Kujako]

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

See above, popular vote vs election results. Do some searches for gerrymandering and you can see how ridiculous some of the district maps are.

For example... IL 4th district.

[I Push Buttons]

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

Well a Democrat won the popular vote in my state for president, yet we have 12 Republican and only 4 Democrats in our House of Representatives delegation. Not to mention some of the most absurd and embarrassingly apparent gerrymandered districts.

Example Edit:
My city, Cincinnati... Like other cities, it votes Democrat. But Republics during the last redistricting split Cincinnati into two different districts and included the giant surrounding suburban sprawl which is filled with upper middle class white people (ie: Republican leaning). So Cincinnati, a city that has been fully Democrat for a while now, instead has TWO Republicans congressional Representatives.

[Spectral]

Incumbent President parties typically lose seats during mid-terms.

[hydrium]

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

That's typical opposing party rhetoric. Every time there is an 8 year stretch of party control the other party gains in strength while the current party wanes. It has happened almost since the inception of our two party system. Think of it like a pendulum, it swings one way then the other, 8 years from now it'll be republicans wondering why support is dropping and democrats picking up support. In short, nothing to see here, move along.

[Neave]

Gerrymandering. That is the single reason Republicans are "gaining" any sort of power, and winning "votes".

If we ran by popular vote alone, it would be a very different situation.

[TrumpIsPresident]

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

You should never link an election map when you want to talk about the decline of Democrat population.

Because the default response is to blame gerrymandering.

Never mind the fact that Dems benefit from it more than Republicans do which is why you never hear much about it coming from that side.

[ro9ue]

For those who don't know what Gerrymandering is, I didn't either recently until I saw this article.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...will-ever-see/

[PC2]

A lot of people are not satisfied with Obama. The trend will continue if Hillary becomes president.

[apples]

That's typical opposing party rhetoric. Every time there is an 8 year stretch of party control the other party gains in strength while the current party wanes. It has happened almost since the inception of our two party system. Think of it like a pendulum, it swings one way then the other, 8 years from now it'll be republicans wondering why support is dropping and democrats picking up support. In short, nothing to see here, move along.

are you actually implying gerrymandering isnt a giant problem in the us?

or just that its so big that it doesnt even matter cuse its effect is omnipresent

[Daelak]

Can you prove it? I've heard a lot of this but not seen a lot of evidence of it outside of people saying it is happening.

Your first picture proves it. Republican districts are being over-represented currently on the federal level because their respective state legislatures, and basically non-federal voter participation in general is abysmal, and the republican party does better when there is low turnout.

[Ol Scratch]

It's because way too many people have become idiotic and unable to think for themselves, instead drinking in everything the fake news stations keep shoving down their throats. Like how evil Obama is, and how he's turned the country into a festering cesspool of corruption that only a Republican can fix.

It really is that simple. Who cares if he's one of the best presidents we've had in a long time, and that it's Congress that people should be pissy with? Minor details, that.

[Healing Rain]

The people who represent the party are always trying to divide us instead of trying to unite us.

[hydrium]

are you actually implying gerrymandering isnt a giant problem in the us?

or just that its so big that it doesnt even matter cuse its effect is omnipresent

It is a problem, however both parties benefit and suffer from it. It's mainly small time elections that gain big benefits from it, the higher up the chain you go the more it loses its effectiveness. Otherwise you would see the same parties winning and losing every single election which in the house/senate/white house we don't see outside of heavily concentrated liberal/conservative areas.

[apples]

It is a problem, however both parties benefit and suffer from it. It's mainly small time elections that gain big benefits from it, the higher up the chain you go the more it loses its effectiveness. Otherwise you would see the same parties winning and losing every single election which in the house/senate/white house we don't see outside of heavily concentrated liberal/conservative areas.

considering that OPs talking about small time elections...

[hydrium]

Your first picture proves it. Republican districts are being over-represented currently on the federal level because their respective state legislatures, and basically non-federal voter participation in general is abysmal, and the republican party does better when there is low turnout.

Voters’ likelihood to vote and voters’ partisan predisposition are not independent, as the Partisan Effects Hypothesis implicitly assumes. In reality, empirical evidence regarding the partisan consequences of turnout have been far from incontrovertible. Whatever may be the case for left-wing parties in other countries, in the United States, we must be very careful in taking for granted that higher turnout will help the Democrats.

[Sir Andy]

Both of the political parties are losing popularity because 8 years of Obama has proven all too similar to 8 years of Bush. Both parties have had both Chambers of Congress with very little to show for it.

Hence, why people like Bernie Sanders and The Donald are gaining popularity.