Job growth picked up and the recovery kicked into gear around late February/March
The GOP couldve run anyone, they would have lost
Almost a century of poli sci research shows that US Presidential elections are basically only decided on the basis of how voters perceive the party in the WH is doing on the economy
All the nonsense that regular people believes changes election outcomes doesnt
Gaffs, speeches, stuff campaign surrogates do, TV and radio ads
Complete waste of money
If the GOP had run Mitt Romney again in 2016 he would have destroyed Hillary Clinton
Literally Romney and the exact same campaign he ran in 2012
The electoral college and the popular vote