Elections

Big turnout at Women's Marches could be misleading for Democrats, Nate Silver says

Women from around the world marched this weekend to make their voices heard
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Women from around the world marched to make their voices heard

Democrats hoping to recover from the 2016 election defeat might be encouraged by the Women's Marches, but the demonstrations were largely in the party's strongholds, according to Nate Silver of ESPN's FiveThirtyEight.

The marches drew more than 3 million people in cities and towns around the country, according to estimates.

In a post Monday, Silver said the turnout from Saturday's marches was about 10 times higher than the tea party rallies on April 15, 2009 — the first major sign of backlash to President Barack Obama's policies.

But Silver added: "About 80 percent of march attendees were in states that [Hillary] Clinton won, and a disproportionate number were in major cities."

"So if the marches were a reminder of the depth of opposition to [President Donald] Trump — unprecedented for a president so early in his term — they also reflected Democrats' need to expand the breadth of their coalition if they are to make a comeback in 2018 and 2020," he said.

To read Silver's full post, click here.