The 2022 midterm elections have been a huge disappointment for Republicans, turning the hoped-for red wave into a pitiful red ripple. . As reported by David Wallace-Wells New Yorker On November 4, just five days before the polls closed, “the consensus among many Republican pollsters and operatives I spoke to this week was that in a Senate election considered competitive, The Republican nominee is headed for a sweep: Mehmet Oz will beat John Fetterman by a point or two in Pennsylvania, and Adam Laxalt, the incumbent Democratic Senator from Nevada. Defeating Catherine Cortez Mast looks pretty certain, and even lesser-profile candidates such as Arizona’s Blake Masters will be carried into office by the expected waves,” Wallace-Wells said. , added that Republicans expected “bloodshed.”
Instead of blood, there was only a finger prick. Fetterman successfully defeated Oz. Results in Nevada and Arizona are still pending, but there’s good reason to believe that unresolved votes in those states too will lead to Democrat victories, and indeed allow Democrats to retain control of the Senate. In the House, with any luck, Republicans could win a minority majority. This makes it virtually impossible for party leaders to flock to consensus, given the divisions within the party and the large far-right contingent of Republican caucuses. .
And if the red wave was a chimera, the red ripple could be a nightmare for the Republican Party. can be left behind, harming the Republican Party’s national brand and making it easier for Democratic presidents to win reelection. is.
Given their disappointment, the Republican establishment quickly sought a scapegoat, finding a plausible one in the form of former President Donald Trump. He endorsed many odd candidates who failed to pass the call-up, especially Oz.As new york times “Donald J. Trump faced unusual public attacks from across the Republican Party on Wednesday after a string of midterm election losses by candidates he hand-picked.”
Admittedly, these criticisms were somewhat limited. They rarely came from elected Republicans. Rather, they were published by anonymous sources, retired civil servants, and right-wing news outlets. This shows that anyone who wants a future in Republican politics is still afraid to surpass Trump.
But those on the right who had the courage to go after Trump were vicious. especially Rupert Murdoch (especially Fox News, new york postWhen wall street journal).of Position adorned the cover Depicting Trump as a variation on the ill-fated Humpty Dumpty: “Trumpty Dumpty.” wall street journaleditorial page described Trump as “the Republican party’s biggest loser.” It blamed him for a string of party defeats from 2018 to 2022. The centrist media, which has always hoped for signs of Trump’s political demise, most likely sees the former president becoming a Republican president. We are already starting to see these attacks against Trump as proof that there is no.As Jonathan Chait argues, New Yorkthe party is coalescing around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Before giving undue credence to these claims of Trump’s political demise, it’s worth heeding the words of JD Vance, who won the Senate election in Ohio. I’m writing an obituary,” Vance said. new york times“And year after year, it’s a quick reminder that Trump remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party.” I believe I can become a flag bearer.
Vance understands the Republican Party better than those who expect 2022 to see Trump’s demise as a political force. For one thing, 2022 proves that Trump’s endorsement still matters in the primary. Only one person. The fact that many of these candidates didn’t win against the Shogun doesn’t matter. A Republican candidate must win a primary before winning the general election. If you’re a Republican with political ambitions, Trump remains an enemy you don’t want to have.
write in Politicoa note by Jack Shaffer,
Not tested by the 2022 election is Trump’s viability as a presidential candidate in 2024. Only a fraction of the party’s followers who backed him in December 2020 peeled away. ‘s funding capacity remains solid. And the victorious Florida governor Ron DeSantis, likely the frontrunner for Trump’s nomination, has yet to prove his appeal for elections outside his home state.2015 Remember what the formidable presidential candidate Florida Governor Jeb Bush was supposed to be before he ran headlong into Trump’s angle grinder in the 2022 primary debate? The ashes have not yet cooled. The press cannot afford to repeat the mistake they have made over and over again by underestimating Trump.
Trump’s great political strength within the Republican Party remains the fact that he is a nihilist with no party loyalty. I’ve been afraid of That fear is based on the fact that Trump enjoys a political celebrity who, like Ross Perot in the 1990s, owes nothing to party members. may run as a third-party nominee. He has enough hardcore supporters that even if he doesn’t win as a third-party candidate, he can certainly beat the Republican Party.
This fear of Trump’s ability and willingness to undermine the Republican Party explains why party leaders have been so afraid to challenge him. presidential election loss, and even instigated an attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, dominates the Republican Party. status as a republican king.
