Some Republican governors, donors say party should surpass Donald Trump

Republicans have also seen their share of governors decline, including in this year’s election, when Trump was the top Republican. On Monday night, Democrat Katie Hobbs was declared the winner of the closely watched Arizona gubernatorial race, defeating prominent Trump supporter Kari Lake.

Around the lobby bars and hallways of the hotels that host rallies, there has been frequent debate about how his involvement in the midterm elections hurt the party’s election results.

“While I have tremendous respect for President Trump and the effectiveness of some of his policies and initiatives, I believe it is time for change for our party and country,” said a native of Jacksonville, Fla. RGA’s top contributor and technology entrepreneur Ricky Caplin said.

Kaplin, who said he has supported Trump in the past, is interested in the 2024 GOP presidential election that could be put forward by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. I am intrigued.

Less than 200 miles south of the RGA conference, Trump prepares to announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election Tuesday night at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Week called it bad politics.

“It’s a terrible idea to announce that you’re running for president the week after the general election,” he said on the sidelines of the meeting.

Sununu, who is sometimes mentioned as the 2024 presidential candidate, said Trump shouldn’t be seen as a Republican figurehead.

“Although he is by no means out of the conversation, I think his influence on the global voice of the Republican Party is being minimized by the day.” increase.”

Sununu added:

DeSantis is scheduled to speak at the RGA rally on Tuesday night, shortly before Trump makes his announcement in Palm Beach, according to two sources familiar with the schedule. An aide to the governor of Florida and a representative from the RGA declined to confirm attendance.

A Trump spokesperson did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The former president recently hinted that he was responsible for DeSantis and Youngkin’s wins as governors, and that the candidates he endorsed overall fared better than the media reported.

Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel, a Trump supporter, informed members on Monday that she was interested in running for re-election for her post. Sununu said he was open to anyone else taking on the RNC’s top role.

“If you stick with the exact same teams, you’re likely to get the exact same results,” he said.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former chairman of the RGA, said candidates who ran on Trump’s model have almost always lost the election this year.

“The losing candidate was Trump,” he said. “In my view, there were better alternatives, and they came at a cost.”

Christie said losing gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania will also affect the 2024 presidential election. “Without the combined states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, we can’t come up with an electoral college map that could elect a Republican president,” he said.

While past predictions of Trump’s political demise, including the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, have not materialized, Christie said the evidence from this year’s election is irrefutable, and that he’s seeking more Republican office. I think it will sway people and voters away.

“The reason I think it’s different this time is because we have six years of consistent history,” he said. “In 2018 we lost the Maison, in 2020 we lost the Senate and the White House, and in 2021 we lost two seats in the Georgia Senate. fell short of both historical standards and the atmosphere presented to us.”

Christie said he is seriously considering running for president in 2024 and plans to make a decision next year.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine won reelection last week by a nearly 26-point margin, but his criticism of Trump was less direct when asked about responsibility for the overall GOP slump.

“It matters who the candidate is,” he said. “It matters who gets to run for the general election. You can’t win on a narrow base. You need the ability to get independents and other party members.”

Asked if he thinks Trump understands that, DeWine said, “I don’t know.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is considering a 2024 Republican presidential run, said Mr. Trump “wasted tickets the last three elections,” and the party needs to pass him. said there is.

“I’m tired of losing,” he said. “The party must take a real assessment of what happened in this election and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.”

He also said he wouldn’t mind taking on new leadership at the RNC. “Usually after three bad seasons in a row, sometimes we start looking at getting a new manager,” he said.

Businessman Kevin O’Leary, who appeared on CNBC’s reality show “Shark Tank” and was also another conference attendee, said the midterm elections had voters wanting more centrists and more Republicans. said he thought it showed that he needed to figure out how to win again. “I think the party is soul searching for so many things to do,” he said.

Calling himself “Mr. Great,” O’Leary applauded on the show, praising each party likely to end up ruling one House of Congress. “I’m very excited about it,” he said, noting how he supports lower regulations and taxes that he claims will benefit small businesses.

write destination John McCormick: mccormick.john@wsj.com