WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With every U.S. national election, a cottage industry of strategists, pollsters and organizers come up with brand new words and phrases to describe the mood of American voters and the politics aimed at swaying them.
From the “Nadertraders” of the 2000 election (ask any Generation often temporary phenomena related to the struggle to lead the most powerful democracy in the world.
This year is no exception. Here are some terms you should know:
BANNON LINE: First coined during the 2020 election cycle, in response to a comment from political strategist and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, the Bannon Line will be heavily relied upon in 2024. It lays out the path by which a Democratic candidate could defeat former President Donald Trump if a certain threshold of Republican voters did not support Trump.
“It is clear to me that the Bannon Line has grown. It is no longer 6-7%; it could be as much as 20-25% of the people who voted in the Republican primaries so far,” a Democratic strategist said in an interview.
DOBBS FATHERS: Fathers of girls or young women who have traditionally voted Republican but who Democrats believe will switch parties in November out of concern for their daughters’ reproductive rights following the Supreme Court decision between Dobbs and Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That ruling overturned the constitutional right to abortion and ushered in a series of restrictive state abortion measures.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a big factor motivating not only female voters, but also fathers of girls — the “Dobbs dads” who worry about the decisions their daughters will face as they grow up — Rick Wilson, a former Republican strategist and co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, told reporters in Iowa earlier this year.
FETTERMAN DEMOCRATS: Democrats who are distancing themselves from the party’s progressive and moderate flanks and offering unpredictable policy positions often rooted in populist politics. The term was inspired by first-term U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
“Many local Democrats at the local level embrace being a ‘Fetterman Democrat,’” said one political consultant. “Fetterman has really given them political cover to express their opinions and not have to submit to any orthodoxy.”
LAWFARE: The strategic use of legal process to intimidate or hinder an opponent, not to be confused with Lawfare Media, a popular national security-oriented website.
Trump, his supporters and right-wing media have increasingly alleged that Democrats are pursuing lawsuits against the Republican presidential candidate, who is facing multiple criminal charges. “All these weaponizations and lawsuits that you’re looking at … they’re run by the DOJ, they put their people there,” Trump said in a video released in April.
NO-NO VOTERS: Voters who have a negative view of both Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden.
The “no-no” part of the electorate “is very broad and very diverse” this election, one strategist said.
No-no voters are also called “double haters.”
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Andrea Shalal, Alexandra Ulmer and Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Heather Timmons; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
