One of the few beneficial legacies of the Barack Obama presidency is the  electoral decimation of the Democratic Party.  Over a thousand seats, national and statewide, flipped from Democrat to Republican control during the fundamental transformation of America from 2009-2016.

Democrats are pinning their hopes on the 2018 midterms.  If they can win the House, they may be able to impeach President Trump.  If they control the Senate, too, they might be able to remove him from office.  This is their last option to stop the Trump train now that the Russian collusion story is going up in smoke.

It's a tall order for Democrats to win either the House or the Senate, much less both, and an even higher hurdle for them to gather enough votes for impeachment.  Let them try.  Impeaching Trump over nonsense is the surest path for Democrats to lose control of Congress in 2020 and all but guarantee Trump's re-election.  If they don't try to impeach him or fail in their efforts, their unhinged far-left base will go insane and chase Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team with torches and pitchforks.  Either way it's good for Trump.

Democrats are giddy after winning this week's special election in Pennsylvania.  Democrat Conor Lamb defeated Republican Rick Saccone by a fraction of a percent, despite a Monmouth poll predicting Lamb by 6 points.  It seems polling hasn't improved much since the not so long ago days when Hillary Clinton was supposed to win the presidency by a landslide.

Pollsters frequently oversample Democrat voters and can't seem to find many Republican voters willing to speak to pollsters, hence the inaccurate predictions.  But that's a separate issue.

How did a Democrat win a district that Trump won by 20 points just 16 months ago?  Simple.  By pretending to be Donald Trump.  Sure, Trump's personality and charisma helped propel him to victory, but don't forget the issues.

Whom does this sound like?  "My first priority is to get things moving again.  I will work with anyone to protect our people and bring good jobs here."  Or this: "I'll never forget that the only people I work for are right here at home."  Trump or Lamb?

That was all from Conor Lamb's website.  He went farther: "I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle and I will never ever let you down."  No, just kidding on the last one, which was Trump in 2016, but notice the similarities?

Where are the typical Democrat bromides?  You didn't hear anything like this from Conor Lamb: "And his whole campaign, Make America Great Again, was looking backwards.  You don't like black people getting rights, you don't like women getting jobs, you don't want to see that Indian-American succeeding more than you are, whatever that problem is, I am going to solve it."

That's the sore loser Hillary Clinton, still in denial, and the current face of the Democratic Party.  If Lamb spoke like that, he would have lost, just as Clinton did.  So he got smart and asked, "What would Donald do?" and spoke accordingly.

What else did the Donald wannabe say?

"We need modern airports, roads, and bridges, locks, and dams – to move people and goods into and out of our region, to attract new businesses, and to create jobs."  On the House leader: "I don't support Nancy Pelosi."

On guns, Lamb called for a stronger system of background checks but no new gun restrictions.  He supports President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.  He personally opposes abortion.  Lamb supports "robust and responsible energy development."

Even more Trumpism.  He proudly stands for the pledge of allegiance and supports more funding for border security.

Lamb's professed conservatism paid off, although barely.  And his term is only until the midterms in a few months, when his district disappears into the whimsical imaginations of the black robes on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Whether he stands up to his far-left party leadership as he says or becomes Nancy Pelosi's boy-toy, toeing the party line, remains to be seen.  He can run as a Trumpster, but the reality is that the heart and soul of the Democratic Party is clearly Clinton and Obama – with faithful stooges Pelosi, Schumer, Waters, and Schiff.

This strategy may work in a purple district, or even in a red one if the GOP runs a weak candidate.  But nationally, it won't work.  The left-wing media won't support it, and neither will the Democrat donors and hardcore base.  Yet for select elections, it might work.

It looks as though the Democrats have found a winning formula.  Run youthful, energetic candidates who sound like Donald Trump.  Rather than a Roy Moore, with a dodgy past dragging him down.  Or a Rick Saccone: a good guy and solid on the issues, but who looks more like a department manager at the local Sears and Roebuck store than a rising political star.

Looks and optics matter.  JFK versus Nixon.  Trump versus Low Energy Jeb or Crooked Hillary. Obama versus McCain.  Democrats seem to understand this better than Republicans, at least until Trump came along – a TV reality show star who understands optics and marketing inside and out.

Trump is the winning formula.  Be like The Donald and win.  Run as a far-left loon and good luck, unless you are running in a safe deep blue district.  Run as a NeverTrump in a district Trump won, and your GOP voters will stay home.

It's not complicated.  Republicans can easily maintain control of the House and Senate if they try and if they want to.  Both are necessary.  Many NeverTrumps may be happy to cede control of Congress and their majority if it means damaging or removing President Trump from the White House.

Hopefully the Republicans pay attention and campaign to win.  Pick the right candidate who is solid on the issues.  It's not that hard.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer.  Follow him on Facebook,  LinkedIn, and Twitter.