President Donald Trump gives thumbs up as he boards Air Force One as he departs Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Trump is en route to Indiana. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

As virtually everyone except Hillary Clinton and the NeverTrumpers at The Dispatch and The Bulwark know, it was not the Russians who put Donald Trump in the White House in 2016, it was voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They remain just as critical for 2020 as they were last time around. When one looks at the electoral map from 2016, there isn’t very much visible room for either party to make gains.

CREDIT: Wikipedia. State races by 2016 presidential election margin. Clinton won dark blue states by more than 8%, medium-blue states by 4 to 8%, and light blue states by less than 4%. Trump won dark red states by more than 8%, medium-red states by 4 to 8%, and light red states by less than 4%.

We’ve covered the situation in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan pretty extensively here at RedState:

Poll: Battleground States Oppose Impeaching Trump, Showing Dems Have a Desperate Fight Ahead of Them

Thanks Impeachment: Trump Now Beating Every Democrat in Three Battleground States

Nervous Democrats Weighing Alternative Options to Impeachment as Election Panic Sets in on Capitol Hill

Trump Approval in Battleground States Is Bad News for Dems

In light of the importance of those battleground states, one really has to wonder at the blithe arrogance of the Democrats as they push an agenda that is so politically, culturally, and economically at odds with the voters there that it seems calculated to damage rather than improve Democrat chances of victory.

Impeachment is only the tip of the iceberg. When one looks at radical Democrat rhetoric and actions on cultural and economic issues, there is a question of what damage has been done. Now, thanks to Axios.com, we have some answers. Using the assistance of a focus group composed of Obama voters who had flipped to Trump in 2016, Axios explored attitudes to gain insights into what those voters may do in 2020.

These voters hate the fact that House Democrats are moving toward impeaching the president. They call it a distraction from the issues that would actually improve their lives, like preserving Social Security, cracking down on illegal immigration, and keeping jobs in the U.S.

They also found some other interesting things. Unlike guys like David French and Jonah Goldberg, who perpetually have their knickers in a tight little wad over Trump’s latest tweet, the focus group participants have basically baked Trump’s tweets and pronouncements into the equation. They see that as just the way he is and don’t care. (So much for the “you’re going to hell if you support Trump” line of attack, eh?) They think the media has it out for Trump. Their support for him is rock solid even when asked about a future recession or trade war with China. They give Trump rightful credit for increasing their disposable income and making health insurance more affordable. While most of the participants said they are open to voting for someone else, that someone is not currently running for the Democrat nomination. None of them were supportive of any of the Democrats.

While focus groups are not quantitative measures, when combined with empirical methods they can give insights into why people behave in certain ways. The fact that a left-leaning media outlet would give this study a lot of visibility can be taken as a sign of panic building inside the media as they watch 2020 shape up.

All in all, this seems a grim place from which the Democrats must start. No one likes their candidates and while the voters don’t really approve of Trump they are ready to give him credit for improving their lives and will more likely than not vote for him again failing a Democrat candidate who has not yet appeared is on the ballot.