Dem group points to "Red State Murder Problem"

With the GOP seizing on big-city crime as a top midterm issue, the Democratic think tank Third Way is trying to turn the tables with this provocative finding in a new report, "The Red State Murder Problem":

• The six states with the highest per-capita murder rates all voted for President Trump in 2020 — as did 8 of the top 10.

• "Republicans seem to do a much better job of talking about stopping crime than stopping crime," said Jim Kessler, Third Way's EVP for policy, and an author of the report.

Third Way looked at the 2020 murder rates in the 25 states that voted for Donald Trump, compared to the 25 states that voted for Joe Biden:

• In Trump states, the rate was 8.20 murders per 100,000 residents.
• In Biden states, the rate was 5.78 murders per 100,000 residents.
• "These Biden-voting states include the 'crime-is-out-of-control' cities of Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Portland, Baltimore, and Minneapolis," the report notes.

The bottom line: "[Y]ou would think that the increase in murder is a phenomenon found mostly in liberal cities," Third Way says. "But the ... increase in murders is not a liberal cities problem but a national problem."

• Read the report.