What we learned from the special election in North Carolina's 9th congressional district

These three takeaways are mostly bad for Republicans

When a special election keeps you up past midnight:

The Takeaway: Democrats came very close to winning a special election in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district yesterday. Three things you should know: (1) there are more than thirty GOP-held districts that are potentially more competitive than NC-09 (though the number is less when you factor in incumbency, challenger quality, etc.); (2) The district, with both suburbs and rural areas, is a neat microcosm of trends from 2016 to 2018; and (3) Donald Trump’s re-election strategy contains a hidden danger for the president.